If you watched the Olympic games from Beijing last summer, I am sure that there are a few enduring images or moments that you still remember vividly six months later. Maybe your image captures the pageantry of the opening or closing ceremonies. Maybe your image is of Phelps hitting the wall claiming gold just hundredths of seconds ahead of his closest competitor. Maybe your image is of Nastia on the balance beam or Shawn on the high bar. Or maybe, your image is of what might have been. . .
For a few American athletes, split second errors led to the heartbreak of broken dreams. Both the men and women’s 4×100 meter relay teams were favored to medal (and possibly contend for gold) on the track inside the “Bird’s Nest.” Unfortunately for both teams, neither of them made it to the finals (having been eliminated in the prelims). What was their problem? Were they overrated? Did they run slowly? Was an injury involved? Well, no. None of these were their problem. They simply dropped the baton.
If you have ever watched at Track and Field competition, you know that the fine art of a relay team is held is their ability to hand the small metal baton from one person to the next, as they carry it around the track. In their haste to race, both American teams botched a handoff, and thus saw their golden dreams bounce off the surface below.
I was thinking about these images this week as I read 2 Timothy 1:13-14 and 2:2. In these verses, I believe Paul is painting a similar picture for us about the nature of the Christian faith and its transmission down through history from the apostles to us. What is that connection? Come Sunday morning to Wildwood and find out, as we look at a message entitled “Relay.” Hope to see you there!