Whenever we find ourselves struggling with a particular problem, or trying to discern a way forward where there seems to be no clear path, or facing a crossroads moment when we must make a choice to go one way or the other, it often helps to remember that we’re not the first. We’re not the first to face this problem, or to make this decision, or to take this risk before us. There’s a good chance that someone has already been there before.
God has always sent people of faith before us to blaze a trail for us, and God has always called every generation to continue that trailblazing work for the sake of those who follow. On this journey of life and faith, we start from a place of strength, thanks to those who have already gone before us.
Carrying the baton they’ve handed to us, we then take our pull in the race with intention and determination, until the time comes when we must pass it off to the next generation. If we’ve been faithful, those who inherit the baton will begin their leg of the race from a position of even greater strength because of us.
In our “From Strength to Strength” series, we’ll look back and remember the “forerunners” who carried the baton before us, blazing a trail where there was none. We’ll hear God’s call on our lives to be “patrons” for the next generation by perfecting the world that we inherited. And we’ll honor the “heirs” who will come after us by leaving behind a world that looks more and more like the Kingdom of God.