Passing the Baton

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith..." Hebrews 12:1a

My intention was to write this post last week, but I was inturrepted by a long 6-day business trip to Orlando... so here I sit.  Relay racing was on my mind last week because last Saturday marked the conclusion of the first ever Ragnar Relay in Tennessee.  The Ragnar Relay - Tennessee is a 195.5 mile run from Chattanooga to Nashville, beginning on a Friday afternoon and ending on the following Saturday.  Teams are made up of 12 runners, each taking their turns at 3 different legs during the race.  The fastest team started out their journey at 4 PM that Friday afternoon, and finished almost 20 hours later, with an average pace of 06:09 per mile.  I don't think any one person would be able to run 195 miles at a 06:09 pace, but together, they were able.

For the past few days, my Bible reading has been in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews.  This chapter is what Christians refer to as the Hall of Faith.  Throughout that chapter, the author recounts some of the heros throughout the history of the Nation of Israel, saying that they lived the life they lived and did the things they did by faith: they believed in Someone and something far greater than themselves... they saw far beyond their brief time on earth and lived lives that were of eternal consequence.

You see, the Bible in some ways reads like a play-by-play of a multi-millenial relay race.  The runners of the Ragnar Relay could not see the finish line in Nashville from the starting line in Chattanooga... but they ran the race believeing that ultimately, as a team, they would reach the finish line that none of them could see and none of them could reach on their own.  For us, the beginning of our great race is described here:

"So the LORD God said to the serpent: '...And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.'" Genesis 3:15

Man and Woman had just fallen into sin.  This was God's response - His declaration of His plan of salvation for the human race and the destruction of evil.  The Hebrew word that is translated into our English word 'bruise' can actually mean different things.  It can mean to bruise, but it can also mean to crush, seize, or strike out against.  That last line of the verse could be translated like this: "He shall crush your head, and you shall strike out against His heel."  Basically God is saying to Satan the serpant, someone is coming... you will strike out against Him and wound Him... but He will crush your head.  If you take a close look, you will see something even more interesting.  God says that this savior will come from woman's seed.  If you know anything about reproductive biology, you know that women do not have seed.  They have eggs that need to be fertilized by seed.  Not only is God telling of Satan's destruction, but He is saying that the Savior of Mankind and the Destroyer of Evil will have a virgin birth.  Sound familiar?  From generation to generation over multiple millennia, this promise of good news has been passed down.  And over those millennia, men and women who have believed in the promise, have given their lives to see this promise ultimately fulfilled.  The book of Hebrews says it this way:

"How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight. Women received their loved ones back again from death.


But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.


All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us." Hebrews 11:32-40

It is at this point where Hebrews moves from Chapter 11 to Chapter 12... and we see the passage that I quoted at the beginning of the post: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith..."  This huge crowd of witnesses described by the author of Hebrews is the great hall of faith - our fellow runners in this great and grand relay.  Whenever I read Hebrews 12:1, I think of this scene from "Saving Private Ryan."



An entire company of soldiers gave up their lives for the single purpose of saving Private Ryan.  At the end of the movie, Ryan wanted assurance that his life had been worth the sacrifice. Untold numbers of people have gladly given their lives for the hope of a salvation and an ending of evil once and for all... all runners... faithfully running their leg of the race as best as they were able, setting the next generation up for success as they selflessly handed off the baton.

We are now part of this great race.  We have been handed the baton. It's our time to run as all those who have gone before us watch and cheer us on.  You see, they can't reach the finish without us... and untold numbers of people who are alive today, and even those who aren't even born yet but will be alive in the years to come, are counting on us to run well... and not only run well but set the next generation up for success, that they may run and continue the promise.  I'm not just saying this to those of you who read this post.  I say this to myself as well: am I... are we running the race... are we living a life worthy of the sacrifices that have been made... worthy of the great sacrifice that God made in sending His Son to die for us... worthy of the calling that God has given us to be His ambassadors at this time in history?  And are we actively running in such a way that we can hand off the baton without a drop, and see those that come after us run the finishing legs of this race to victory?

I leave you with this song from one of my favorite bands:



Let's run this race and run it well... I dare you.