At the family service, we looked at the theme of ‘passing on the baton’, subtitled ‘passing on truth in every generation and to every generation.’ We looked at Moses’s words to the people of Israel:
We also looked at his advice to the people in Deut 11:1-7 TNIV & Deut 11:18-21 TNIV. We each have a duty and responsibility to pass on the truths that God has revealed to us to those around us, who will never have the opportunity to hear the gospel if we do not share with them God’s life and light. We need to consider the questions:
Our spiritual legacy does not have to wait until we die. 2 Tim 2:2 TNIV reminds us of the role leaders have to play in passing on truth, but we all have a responsibility to ‘stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.‘ (2 Thess 2:15 TNIV) We need to value the truth and power of the Bible (see Hebrews 4:12 TNIV) so that we can be sure we are passing on truth and we need to understand that our whole lives are living letters which are read by people (see 2 Cor 3:2-3 TNIV).
Life is like a relay race. In the relay race, there is both individual effort and team effort. The handover of the baton is all-important:
We were urged to stop and consider what fundamental truths we want to pass on to those around us and to the next generation (especially our children and grandchildren.) What core beliefs are shaping our lives? What do we believe is absolutely essential for others to know of God and about us? We were all given a plastic baton to take away.
In the baton was a strip of paper. We were urged to write that ‘one thing’ which summarised all we have learnt of God and want to pass on to someone else and once we have done that, to pass the baton on to another person. In the words of the Bryn Haworth song, ‘Pass it on!’
‘Pass It On’, Bryn Haworth