“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9, NIV)
My golf games usually start with just two of us. I’m not much of an organizer. Texting and calling until I’ve got a foursome seems like a lot of work. Maybe I’m lazy, too.
So arranging the game is the easy part. Once I have a single yes, I’m good to go. But then comes the first tee. On a busy day, when you only have two, you could be joined by anyone. In fact, two recent rounds I’ve played have been a mix and match, where those we started with weren’t those we finished with. We’ll just call it odd times on a crowded golf course. But what it also provides is a chance to meet new people.
Move acquaintances toward friendship, then move friends toward Jesus.Most friendships begin this way. We’re introduced to someone, or we’re thrust into the same environment, and we get to talking. “Small talk” and “big talk” both seem to miss the mark when it comes to building a friendship, so let’s call the most effective conversation “medium talk.” Yes, I just made that up, but hear me out. In this medium talk, we go beyond the incidentals of acquaintance and we stop short of the weighty topics that intimidate people. This middle ground is the place where work and family and interests are related. And if we get the sense that the discussion is connecting rather than competing, a friendship starts to form.
At Links Players, the third tenet we have presented all these years is “Network friends together in Christ.” The idea is that we don’t do life alone; we do it together. And if we can bring our friends who don’t know Christ into connectedness with those who do, we just might see some great kingdom stuff happen. Friendships on earth can lead to friendships for eternity.
So we do well when we keep in mind a specific progression: Move acquaintances toward friendship, then move friends toward Jesus. In order to make this happen, you need to be prayerful, asking the Lord to help you see opportunities to deepen conversations and break the ice about topics of faith and salvation. This will come more easily to some people than to others, but we can all be friendly, ask meaningful questions, and listen for ways to connect at a heart level. We can also use the resources and gifts we’ve been given (“worldly wealth,” Jesus called it) to benefit others and encourage them to spend more time talking with us about things that matter not just today but a thousand years from now.
—
Jeff Hopper
February 15, 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 4: Speaking the Language
A Mission in Life 5: Crossing Cultures
A Mission in Life 6: Nimble Action
A Mission in Life 8: Sustained Commitment
A Mission in Life 9: Handing Off the Work