The Relay

At one track meet, athletes ran in an important relay race. Two of the teams began very well. The runners for these teams blasted out of the blocks, and both teams received solid performances from their second and third runners. As the two leading teams turned the corner for the home stretch, they were neck and neck. The deciding factor for the race would be the performance of each team’s anchor – the last runner. The anchor for one of the teams, in the heat of the moment, looked back, consequently messing up the timing of the third runner who was handing him the baton, and there was a fumbled exchange. The anchor for the other team, however, kept his eyes straight ahead and began slowly building momentum. Approaching the anchorman, the runner of the third leg hollered, “Stick,” which is the exclamation that occurs during the exchange of the baton. When the third runner yelled, “Stick,” this was the signal to the fourth runner, not to look back, but simply to stick his hand back and receive the baton. The exchange of the baton was flawless, and that team won the race. The key to their victory lay in the anchorman’s ability to keep his eyes on what was before him.

Source: Brad R., "Finishing the Race," Sermon preached at Wake Forest Divinity School on Sunday, February 22, 2004. Available from Prinston University Chapel, http://web.princeton.edu/sites/chapel/Sermon%20Files/2004_sermons/022204.htm