When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. (Acts 2:6, NIV)
Writing is hard. This is especially so when a writer is assigned to provide material for an audience who knows better than he does. As one who follows all sports but especially golf, I sometimes recognize when a sportswriter who doesn’t really know golf has been assigned to cover it. The work includes wording that sounds right but is just enough off that we golfers recognize it. For instance, you might read that a golfer “hit a hole-in-one” or “shot a birdie.”
Language, the experts tell us, is culture itself. And the difference between these nuanced errors and the common vernacular among avid golfers is the difference between outsiders and insiders—with the same being true in any cultural environment.
So if you’re on a mission to share the life that you have been given in Christ, the best way to communicate this with golfers is in the language golfers use. You don’t need to be a preacher.
You know the culture in a way outsiders do not—which gives you the ability to speak readily in a way that golfers can understand.Soon after Jesus ascended to heaven, about which we read in the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit entered the picture in a new and personal way. On the feast day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, the yet small group of believers experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages not their own. This, we would say, was the miracle. The blessing was that the assembled people, who came from all over the world for this Jewish celebration, each heard the apostles’ message of Jesus as Messiah in their own language.
As it is with most missionaries and Bible translators, you were not given the ability to “speak golf” supernaturally like this. Yet you gained understanding of a golfer’s language and its subtleties by experience. You know the culture in a way outsiders do not—which gives you the ability to speak readily in a way that golfers can understand.
A gifted athlete amounts to little if he or she is not using that gift. The same can be said of us if, having gained access into the golfer’s world, we don’t step up to engage golfers. There are connections between mulligans and forgiveness, between practice and spiritual growth. When we draw lines like these in the way we talk, we will find those with ears to hear and hearts ready to receive the gospel of Christ.
—
Jeff Hopper
January 25, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
A Mission in Life 1: How God Moves Us
A Mission in Life 2: Ministry and Mission
A Mission in Life 3: Supported by Prayer
A Mission in Life 5: Crossing Cultures
A Mission in Life 6: Nimble Action
A Mission in Life 7: Friendship Building
A Mission in Life 8: Sustained Commitment
A Mission in Life 9: Handing Off the Work