From talking with folk after the two services this Sunday, (and the launch of Junior Youth Fridays), I know I was not alone in feeling incredibly encouraged by what the Lord is doing among our young people. What joy to see them grow in their love for Jesus and in their gifts to serve Him and His church!

But to see the next generation grasp the baton, and run hard and well, requires effort on the part of us who run before them. Handing on the baton is not a hand-off (as in rugby), it’s an investment.

I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that Moses was heart-broken to be denied the opportunity to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. He writes in Numbers 3:23, “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time…” Read the context and you’ll see that Moses knew he had only just begun to see the greatness of God and His works. He knew there was so much more of God to experience, and he pleaded for more. And God said ‘no’: the privilege of leading the people into Canaan was to go to Joshua – to the next generation.

But did that mean Moses could now sit back, take a back seat, enjoy his retirement and observe from the sidelines? Or, worse still, could Moses withdraw into self-pity, or complain about being overlooked, or of a bias to youth? The answer, of course, is no. God says to him: “Charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people” (Deut 3:28).

Moses’ role was to invest in Joshua – to charge him, to encourage and strengthen him – to impart stuff to him; to take what he, Moses, had learnt of God and His ways and pass it on to Joshua; and he was to do that by coming alongside him. He was to hand on the baton, and that meant investing in Joshua’s life, not withdrawing from him.

Now, lest anyone get the wrong end of the baton – we are not talking about a culture of youth. Neither Moses nor Joshua were young saplings at this stage – not by any stretch of the imagination. But we are talking passing on the grace of God to our young people so that, when the time comes, they grasp the baton, and run hard and well. And then, in due time, they’ll be handing-over to those who follow them.

So let’s keep running, charging, encouraging, strengthening, and handing on the baton. With all the strength God gives us.