The time of my departure
Paul passes the baton
Paul, near execution, writes words of calm finality to Timothy: I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. There is no panic, no clutching. He has run his race, and now he hands the baton to Timothy and others, content that the work will continue without him. The whole second letter to Timothy is, in a sense, a long handoff — an old runner passing what he carried to a younger one before he falls.
Many leaders cannot conceive of the work continuing without them, and so they never truly prepare to leave. Paul models the opposite: a leader who runs his own leg well and then deliberately, peacefully passes the baton. A relay is not won by the runner who refuses to let go; it is won when the baton is passed cleanly and the next runner carries it on. Finishing well includes handing off well — and being at peace that your leg was yours to run, not the whole race.
“Elisha the son of Shaphat you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.”
— The LORD, to Elijah — 1 Kings 19:16 (WEB)
Finishing well includes handing off well. A relay is won not by the runner who refuses to let go, but when the baton is passed cleanly to the next.
“For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.”
Paul faced his departure with peace, content the work would go on without him. A leader formed here makes peace that his leg is not the whole race. The inner work is releasing the work to others before he must.
Run your own leg well and prepare a clean handoff rather than clutching the baton. Build successors who can carry it on, and let them. Treat finishing well and handing off well as one task.
Leaders who cannot imagine the work without them never prepare to leave, and the handoff is fumbled. The blind spot is running as if the whole race were theirs to finish.
Picture the work continuing without you. This week, take one concrete step to prepare a clean handoff of something you currently hold.
Many leaders cannot imagine the work continuing without them, and so never prepare to leave. Paul ran his leg, then passed the baton in peace.
Are you running as if the whole race were yours, or running your leg well and preparing to pass the baton cleanly?