“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44, NASB)
Just about all experts agree that the single greatest influence on a culture is the language that is spoken. Culture encompasses many things from shared beliefs, social forms, attitudes, and practices, but the vocabulary we use most obviously defines our culture. Golf certainly has its own culture. Do you speak the golf language?
Having grown up around the game, I like to think of myself as a golf linguist. Allow me to give you a few useful tips:
1. Never use golf as verb. Do not ask, “Are you golfing today?” or “How did you golf?” Just like you play tennis or play basketball, you play golf.
2. Hit is an action verb; it is not your score. Do not ask, “What did you hit on that hole (or for the round)?” Instead, ask, “What did you have on that hole?” or “What did you shoot today?” However, you can ask someone, “How did you hit it today?”
3. A right-handed player cannot slice it to the left (and vice versa for lefties). It is called a hook when a right-handed player’s shot curves left.
Okay, maybe golfers are elitists, but the language you use tells a lot about your understanding of the game. I find this to be applicable in our faith as well. Do you speak cultural Christianese, or do you know the kingdom language of Jesus and the early apostles?
The underlying theme of everything Jesus taught and did was about the kingdom of God. He was teaching and modeling a kingdom culture that he intended his disciples to spread around the world. They did this very well, and we see it consistently shared in the recording of roughly 30 years of them doing so in the book of Acts and in Paul’s epistles. “And [Paul] stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all openness, unhindered” (Acts 28:30-31) are the closing words of Acts.
Jesus was teaching and modeling a kingdom culture that he intended his disciples to spread around the world.Over the last two thousand years, the Christian language has evolved like playing the game of telephone. Today, many Christians speak a language void of the original meanings that we find contextually from the New Testament manuscripts and First Century Jewish culture. Our language tends to be based more on religious doctrine and practices than in application of the kingdom of God in our lives. For instance, many know and recite the Apostles’ Creed in church, but did you know the word love, which is the greatest commandment, is not in it?
Just as Jesus told his disciples, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables” (Luke 8:10), he too desires for us to know this language of love, grace, and truth. It is my challenge to you today to dive into the Gospels and get to know the language of the kingdom of God in which you have been invited. “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power” (1 Corinthians 4:20, NLT).
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Josh Nelson
February 18, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.