“Go therefore and disciple all nations.” (Matthew 28:19, NASB)
What do you think is the chief motivator of the greatest golfers in history? What motivated Gary Player, winner of nine majors? Or Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy to become the number one players in the world? What has motivated Jordan Spieth?
It’s not money. Not even the satisfaction of achieving a clear-cut goal like winning the Masters.
There’s a stronger motivator than doing something.
It’s becoming something.
Gary Player at age 17 watched a movie about Ben Hogan. When Player walked out of that theatre he wanted to be like Ben Hogan. And like his hero, Player won all four majors. Tiger Woods studied everything that Jack Nicklaus achieved and gave himself completely to accomplishing what Nicklaus did. Michael Bannon, swing coach for McIlroy says that his student would ride with him in his car to junior tournaments reading Tiger’s book, How I Play Golf.
Jordan Spieth has found motivation from his mentor, two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw. And few would dispute that Jordan mastered the Augusta greens just as Crenshaw, one of the greatest putters of all time, had done.
The point I raise is that one of the greatest motivators in life is to become like a role model.
What ought to be one of the greatest motivators of those who call themselves disciples of Jesus Christ is to become like Jesus himself, the greatest role model of all time.
In my last devotional I said that one of the mistakes I’ve made in my journey of discipleship was not seeing the heart of the Gospel. I thought the Gospel was the four-part presentation of salvation.
But Jesus said, “The disciple when fully trained will be like his master” (Luke 6:40, NIV).
It took me more than 30 years of walking with Jesus before I realized that he himself is the Gospel. The Good News. In fact, the Best News the world has ever received.
Jesus invites us to follow him.
Immediately after washing the feet of his cadre of 12, he said, “I’ve given you an example, do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 ESV).
If your motivation for living for God has waned, look at Jesus. Study him. I have an acronym that I follow, built around the word SALT. I commend it to you:
See as Jesus sees
Act as Jesus acts
Love as Jesus loves
Talk as Jesus talks
—
Jim Hiskey
April 21, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.