…be ready in season and out of season… (2 Timothy 4:2, NIV)
Unusually, we received just one submission this year from those who would tell us their story of God and golf for the Links Players Wide Open. It came from Walter Behnke of New Jersey. Let me relay it to you here.
Walter made his way to the local muni recently on a Sunday afternoon. Still fresh in his ears were the words of his pastor, who had exhorted the congregation to responsibility in learning, reading, praying, giving of oneself, and sharing the Good News of Christ. That’s quite a catechism for one morning!
When Walter arrived at the course, however, he was greeted with the disappointing news that the back nine was closed and it would be “cart paths only.” A bit daunted, Walter found a diversion: lunch on the terrace overlooking the ninth and tenth holes. Not a bad Plan B.
After he had ordered, he looked up to see a wave from the assistant pro, with whom he has traded life stories over the years. Walter waved back and in a moment the professional turned and walked his direction. He needed to talk.
Let’s allow Walter to pick up the story: “He sat down across from me and started to share about his fiancée. She just got the bad news that she has been diagnosed with Type 3 kidney cancer. Wow, I was taken aback! I felt his pain. I said to him, ‘How can I help? Would you like me to pray?’ He said, ‘Yes, that’s why I came over—because I know you are a Christian.’ Now I realize how God used me to share his love and mercy.”
So often we get to thinking that our faith takes place “in season.” We worship in church or study the Bible with our Links Fellowship. We pray over dinner and maybe listen to a preacher on the radio as we drive across town. Certainly we need to be ready for times like these, but it is equally true that God will provide us places for our faith to leap into action when we are “out of season”—that is, in a place we’d call common rather than sacred. Paul wrote to Timothy that he needed to be ready to preach the Word of God at any time. But such an instruction applies to all of us. We never know when people will sense their need for God, so we must be prepared to share his love any time and any place.
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Jeff Hopper
June 14, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.