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In the 440 relay race there are four runners who are equally spaced around the track. The first runner starts with a baton in their hand. The objective is for the runner to place the baton into the hand of the next runner. The difficulty is that as they place the baton in the next runner’s hand they are still running and the receiver of the baton is also beginning to take off down the track at high speed. The best hand off is to a runner who does not look back at the approaching runner. They feel the smack of the baton in their hand as they are starting to run. Once the baton is in their hand it’s best to forget about the runner behind them. It sounds easy doesn’t it?

I can say from experience long ago as a runner myself it wasn’t so much about the speed of the runner, but the hand off. The majority of the time our practice and preparation was spent in practicing handing off the baton. Immediately when the baton hit my hand I could tell if I made a mistake in the hand off. I was the last runner which was pressure, pressure, pressure It sounds easy, but it's not. Even though I felt the mistake in the palm of my hand whether it was the approaching runners mistake or my own it didn’t mean I or anyone else was to stop running. We were to continue moving forward with our eye on the finish line and forget about what happened behind.

The 440 relay race reminds me of the words of Paul in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” As we read in the Epistles of Paul we see that his life was very difficult at times. He was in prison, beaten, stoned, and attacked in many ways, but even in the midst of very tough times he continued forward. He pressed on toward the goal which was heavenward. Prior to Paul’s conversion Jesus handed the baton off to the disciples. They made mistakes along the way, but their goal was forward in the same way that Paul pressed on to the goal.

As Christians in the world today God places before us the same goal. We are also to forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. In the same way as the disciples, Paul and the many others that have gone before us we are charged with the same task which is to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ and disciple others. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20.

In reflection ask yourself these questions; In examining my life am I pressing on and sharing the message of Jesus Christ with others or am I stalled on the side of the road? Am I stuck in a rut living in my past by constantly dwelling on it in my mind and constantly talking about it or am I thinking of others and moving forward?

Contemplate this thought; Paul could have sat in his prison cell and given up. He could have stubbornly refused to press on to the goal. If he had given up we would not have the books in the Bible written by him that we read today. As he traveled, ministered and lived in dire circumstances he still continued to press forward.

Let us praise God for the example of the life of Paul and his perseverance in living out his total life sold out and surrrendered to God.

Psalm 103:1-6; Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

A Broken Spirit And Contrite Heart