One day I spent some time reflecting on my legacy. What was it that I wanted to leave behind? After all, many of us want to leave something of value to the next generation. My wife Julie and I have occasionally examined the little “treasures” that we’ve managed, intentionally or accidentally, to accumulate throughout our 64 years of marriage. Of course we would like to pass on these precious material objects to our kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids.

Yet we are keenly conscious of the fact that perhaps nobody will actually want them. Instead, they will check out our so-called treasure and pronounce it to be “junk”, a bunch of dust-collectors that would be more of an aggravation than keepsakes. Come to think of it, our own children will probably rent a dumpster and unceremoniously toss all our valuable collectibles into it. They’ll say to one another, “They’ll never know.”

Still we persist in our strong desire to pass on to them something of inestimable value. That “something” is our faith in Christ. We not only want to transfer to them a faith tradition, with all of its attendant spiritual values; we more especially want to introduce them to a life-transforming relationship with Jesus. As Patrick Henry once said, If we can give them that , and nothing else, we have given them the world.

In my college days I was on the track team. My event was the “440”, once around the track. In fact, once around the track was about all that I could manage. Our team prepared to run in the Penn Relays. In the 440 relay, four runners will each run once around the track and then pass the baton to the waiting sprinter. I was obliged to receive the baton extended to me, grasp it tightly, run, and then pass it successfully to the next runner who was anxiously waiting for it. If one of us dropped the baton, we were out of the race.

In just such a way, we are to run our race and then pass on a living faith to the next generation. In Psalm 78 the poet, Asaph, wrote: