Bible Text: 2 Timothy 2:2 | Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 2 Timothy 2:2

Passing the baton—whether it is on a track, in a boardroom, or in a ministry—is not easy, yet there comes a time when, of necessity, it has to be done. Failure to do so may mean that a lifetime legacy is whittled away, bit by bit, until there is little of lasting value to pass on to the next generation.

Paul, himself, sensed that necessity. From a prison cell in Rome, he wrote a letter to a young man by the name of Timothy. As I visualize the scene, there was a kind of grim determination that motivated his writing. He was totally at peace with his circumstances that were anything but pleasant. After all, a cold, dank Roman prison wasn’t exactly a retirement condominium. The muscles of his jaw were firm, his hand still steady. The unflickering fire in his eye that had been ignited on the Damascus road thirty some years before was still burning. He began, “Paul… to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our LORD.” That was Paul’s favorite first paragraph.

He stresses the importance of boldness in His personal life. Then he began to focus on the importance of passing on the legacy of faith to the next generation. “What you have heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching,” he wrote. Continuing that theme he elaborated, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Let me paraphrase what he’s saying. Today he would probably put it like this: “Look, Timothy, you heard me say many things in the presence of a lot of people. OK, find reliable men (the word means faithful—men whom you can count on, the kind who will go to the wall for the cause) who have the ability to teach others as well, and mentor them. Communicate to them the great truths that I’ve communicated with you.”

Today we would cast his words in terms of mentoring—training others to do the job with excellence! Jesus called it making disciples. Interesting that the Greek word for disciple comes from the Greek word that means a learner; hence, a disciple is a follower who learns from his master teacher.

He is not suggesting that Timothy hang it up and retire, take the attitude, “OK, I’ve done my work. It’s time to find the rocking chair and relax.” But he acknowledges that just as Paul will not always be there for Timothy; neither will he be there for the next generation. Thus he urges him to train men to do the job after he is no longer there.

Passing the baton in a race is a tricky business. Unless it is slapped in the hand of the runner who must grasp the baton and surge ahead with a new burst of speed, the whole process can result in failure. If he drops the baton or stumbles, the race is over!

Have you noticed that some pass the baton gracefully, allowing younger men to step forward and lead their generation while others enjoy what they are doing so much that they hold on, thinking that no one can do it quite as well so why bother?

Closing on a personal note, I’ve lived just long enough to see the generation of men who taught me pretty much disappear from the scene, and I often find myself thinking, “How I wish I could talk to one of them about a problem, or pick their brain about this situation!”

As the psalmist declared, “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:18).

Resource reading: 2 Timothy 2