From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16).

I love running, and I love watching track meets. Relays are some of the most exciting events!

Recently, I was in the stands at the local high school, with a great view of the track. My son is warming up for his race, and he's running the second leg. He'll have to run fast, but he'll also have to focus on quickly taking the baton from his speeding teammate. And if he doesn't deliver a smooth hand off to his next teammate, that could be the difference between winning or losing.

My mind starts racing first. Is he ready? Did they practice their exchanges? Will he be in the lead? Or chase from behind?

The starter gun breaks the silence, and everyone starts cheering. The first runner is off, and my attention snaps back to the race!

And now the first runners are zooming towards the exchange, and Liam receives the baton. At this point I realize something. Liam's success is built on the previous runner. And now, while I want him to do his best, I also see he's running in hopes of giving the next runner an even better position.

Each runner is striving to set up his teammate in the best possible way. And the most critical part of the relay is the baton exchange between teammates. Sure, each athlete is filled with their own talent and gifts for running. But if they don't work well together, and the baton drops, the race is lost.

Paul's words in Ephesians are a reminder that, like a relay race, my faith is a team sport.

By the Holy Spirit, we're all given gifts, just like my son and his teammates. Jesus is the reason we're all running this race together. Our spiritual gifts are the baton we've been given by Jesus. That baton, those gifts, is not something that we're meant to clutch tightly and never hand off. We share those gifts, passing them forward and receiving them with gratitude, as we all run together towards Jesus.

I now see the baton that Jesus has placed in my hand as I run along my faith journey. And I embrace Paul's words, reminding me that these gifts are to be shared, both given and received in order that we all grow stronger as a community following Jesus.

We receive gifts from others in the community, helping us move towards Jesus. We hand off gifts to others as we help them move towards Jesus. We realize that together, as part of our relay of faith, the community flourishes and grows as we all run together to Jesus.

Do you see that in your hand? Jesus is handing you the baton. This week, take it! Think about the spiritual gifts you carry, and how they serve others around you. We're all running towards Jesus, together!