Struggle & Triumph | What God Says I Haveনমুনা

I Have An Eternal Inheritance

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Romans 8:16,17

In the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the American women were the defending champions in the 4x100 meter relay and great favorites to repeat. But they muffed a handoff and finished third. Ready to reclaim their status as the top team at the 2004 Athens Games, they crushed the first heat running faster than the winning time four years earlier. But they would be disqualified for a baton exchange out of the zone. Redemption escaped them again at the Beijing Games in 2008 where a dropped baton kept them from competing for a medal for the first time in 48 years.

How important it is to hand things off successfully! An inheritance is like the baton in a relay race. Each generation runs as fast as they can and when the time is right, they hand the baton forward to the next one. Sometimes that baton is represented by money and earthly belongings. And sometimes it represents much more.

Paul described the handing down of a spiritual inheritance to Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). When we receive Christ, we receive the “baton” of faith. With it we take on His suffering and accept an inheritance of eternity that has been “passed down” through the generations. And now that we run for Him, we look to “hand off the baton” to the next runner … as the American women did when they finally reclaimed their place on the podium with a gold medal performance at the 2012 London Games. Each member of the team ran a great race and handed off/received the baton perfectly, establishing a world record of 40:82 that still stands today!

Paul reminds us that earthy awards are temporary, but our inheritance, our “prize,” will last forever. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24,25).

Application: Accept your wreath. Accept your inheritance … and pass it forward!