Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6, NIV)
It really doesn’t matter who your favorite professional golfer is. You may marvel at the length of Cameron Champ or Brooke Henderson. Or you may prefer the precision of Henrik Stenson or Lexi Thompson. Your appreciation may favor the putting prowess of Ariya Jutanugarn or Jason Day.
Of course, there are other things to love a player for—the aggression of Lexi Thompson, the emotional vulnerability of Bubba Watson, the relaxed demeanor of Ernie Els, the generosity of Stacy Lewis.
As fans, we may not offer reason or rhyme for exactly why we like these players more than those. We simply do.
As our Savior, Jesus is to be thanked and praised. But as our Lord, he is to be followed and obeyed.But what if I told you that admiration really isn’t enough? What if Tiger Woods or Lydia Ko suddenly turned to the gallery and declared aloud, “You have no right to call yourselves my fans unless you get inside the ropes with me and do what I do”?
At the Links Players Southwest Texas regional conference last week, we welcomed five former Tour players, including a major championship winner, as well as a PGA Tour caddie. Five of these six men teed it up in our foursomes one day, mixed right in among us average golfers. When I told a friend about this at home after I returned, he said, “I could never play with those guys. I’d be so nervous.”
Everything changes when we’re called from the stands and onto the playing field.
Almost shockingly in our present-day spiritual environment, we discover in Scripture that our faith is not a spectator sport. It’s not a stand-back-and-look-at-Jesus arrangement. Oh, we can admire him. But we can never only admire him. We must get in the game. We must—and the Greek denotes paying what we owe—walk as Jesus walked.
You might, then, find yourself asking new questions to begin your day. It is certainly acceptable as a catalyst to your praise to ask, “What is it that I admire about my Savior? What is it that is awesome about my Lord?” But we go on from here. We ask also, “How did Jesus go about his business, in his attitude, in his thoughts, in his behaviors? How can these be my model as I go about the business he gives me today?”
Faith is a mindset, driven by what we believe. But faith is also a collection of activities, the expressions of what we believe. As our Savior, Jesus is to be thanked and praised. But as our Lord, he is to be followed and obeyed. Our works in Christ extend our words about him.
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Jeff Hopper
November 5, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.