And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (Hebrews 1:6, NIV)
With the coming of the FedEx Cup playoffs, we golf fans will all grow a bit obsessed with numbers in the weeks ahead. We won’t pretend to do the calculations that the computer is doing in its constantly updated projections, but we want to know: Who’s on top?
While the world golf rankings have a bearing on our interest in the game, during these weeks of the FedEx Cup we get to watching the ups and downs more closely. With a putt here or there, a favorite player might find himself looking good or looking down in disappointment.
But our attention to all these questions of who sits where quickly fades after the playoffs end, especially in a Ryder Cup year, when our attention will be immediately diverted to another competition—and one that is enthralling in its spirited nature.
Perhaps there is a lesson in this, then. For in the same way that our attention is pulled here and there as golf fans, our mind is moved from place to place with every new idea in life. Which may be exactly why we need to keep reminding ourselves of the ultimate truths.
So here’s one: Jesus is God. Creator of all. Lord above all.
You may think this is a bit obvious, that it is something long ago fixed in our brains. But let me ask you this: have you at any point today stopped and said to yourself, “Jesus—he is my King”? I’m guessing not.
One of the reasons we lose track of the most foundational understandings—from sovereignty to salvation—is that we learned these long ago. So when our eyes or ears are drawn to something new, like a television show with a cast of angels or a book on heaven, we are prone to forgetting the key matters of God’s nature and his grandest promises.
Consider the angels, for instance. Their presence fascinates us. We want to know what they’re about and what they’re doing. No issues there. Until we get to thinking of the work of angels more eagerly than we think of the work of Christ on our behalf.
God sent his Son Jesus into the world to purchase our salvation. And it was this very act—“providing purification for sins”—that earned Jesus his great exaltation, his enthroned place next to the Father. He is the one above all the angels, and he has subjugated them even to us: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).
The FedEx Cup is designed to narrow the field until we are focused on the one who wins out over all others. It’s the same pattern we should be following in our love of God: diminishing the attraction of all others in our eyes—even those as splendid as angels—for the sake of seeing the One Great King clearer and with more affection each day.
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Jeff Hopper
August 23, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.