There are some of us who will never wear the title of ’sportsman’ or ‘sportswoman’. There’s a large company of us, and what would the sports world be without us? We are the spectators. We celebrate and affirm our athletes as they perform in big arenas.  A favourite sporting event with many of us is the exciting Relay Race.  Our hearts begin to pound as the athletes take their places.

“On your marks. Set!” The gun goes off.  Great leap from the blocks. We’re ahead. We are jumping up and down like crazy and reach for the pot covers, ready to celebrate. Our anchor looks sideways with arm outstretched and grabs… the air!

The race isn’t won if the baton is not passed.  Speed is not the only factor here.

Today’s Old Testament Reading gives us a picture of a smooth baton pass. Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Bible, is approaching the end of his tenure and God commissions him to anoint his successor. Elijah responds with characteristic alacrity. Elisha, for his part, matches this with excited enthusiasm and daring and definitive commitment as he ‘burns his bridges’ - more than metaphorically, for he makes a fire from the yoke of the oxen he has slaughtered to make a feast for his workers and then follows his mentor-master. We later see Elisha performing the same miracles done by Elijah and surpassing him in the kinds and number of miracles.

The LORD God is the greatest life coach, the greatest succession planner.  All nations, all organizations, if they are to survive and survive well, need succession planning. I am sure that this will be affirmed by our annual guests, members of the St John Ambulance, the birth of whose Patron Saint, John the Baptist, was celebrated on Tuesday.

The church today needs to participate in succession planning. Our Lord Jesus passed on the baton when He told those early disciples, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you”, when He commanded us to ”make disciples of all nations”.  The early Christians, empowered by God the Holy Spirit, faithfully passed on the baton as they shared the Gospel with others and mentored the young believers, modelling Christ by their lifestyle and teaching them to study the Word.

Christ has not called us to be spectators, but to be soldiers in His army, relay runners in a marathon. Are we really on His team? What are we doing today? Have we dropped the baton?

Jean, fellow runner.