All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” (Luke 19:7, NIV)
I cannot tell you what inspired Stephen Atkinson. Maybe he’s just a fun-loving chap who had a few minutes to kill on an afternoon too ill-weathered for golf. But on April 16, he sent this letter to European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn.
Atkinson’s deference in “withdrawing” himself from Ryder Cup consideration is full of good humor. I wish I had dreamed up such a letter to send to Jim Furyk. My qualifications (and disqualifications) are right there with Atkinson’s.
Not too long after Atkinson’s letter arrived, Bjorn headed to Atkinson’s house in Berkshire, England. He brought with him the Ryder Cup trophy, walked the driveway, rang the bell, and waited for the look on Atkinson’s face. Bjorn was not—as we can see in this delightful two-minute video—disappointed.
I am reminded in reviewing this whole exchange between Atkinson and Bjorn that our God is a God of visitation. And those he visits most eagerly are the ones who defer to him.
This began in the garden in Eden. The LORD would come to walk there in the cool of the day. It is apparent that Adam and Eve were used to the sound of his steps, but when their sin had shamed them, they hid from the LORD. God, of course, already knew what they had done, but he called out to them all the same. God is prepared for our sin, and he is unfazed by it.
We do not have time to tour all of God’s visits in-depth, but we know that he lunched with Abraham, wrestled with Jacob, and burned before Moses to call him to ministry. These men had not sought God out for such special conversations, but he chose to visit them all the same.
Above all was Immanuel, God with us in the person of Jesus. Born of a virgin and raised in a carpenter’s home, again God was visiting the outsiders ahead of the rich and powerful. These people knew their need; their eyes were open to a Savior.
When Jesus walked the streets of Jericho, he distilled all of this visiting presence into a single afternoon. He told a despised tax collector named Zacchaeus, “I must stay at your house today.” And the man’s life was changed, just as yours and mine can be when we open the door of our heart to Jesus.
Stephen Atkinson recognized with his wife that his golf dreams were more akin to being “sadly deluded.” Such are all of us when we think we have the goods to impress God. But the beautiful news of the gospel is that we don’t need the goods—not in material possessions or intellect or artistic ability or social connections or spiritual fortitude. We simply need Jesus. And since he is willing to come to our house to meet us and bring salvation, we win the day by laying out the welcome mat.
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Jeff Hopper
May 14, 2018
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.