So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT)
I was born in the United States and have lived here all my life, but if you have ever spent time around me, you might get to laughing. I can talk two miles a minute and make a hundred grammar teachers cringe all at the same time. This is what happens when the grandmother who raised you spoke Chinese at home, but all your friends spoke English in school. I call the result “Chinglish.”
But at our recent Links Players staff meeting, I found myself waxing eloquent. That’s right, me. The words were rolling off my tongue as we talked about many of the things happening in the ministry. But here’s what’s funny: Nearly all my big words started with S. There was sustainability and salvation and sanctification and schwag (OK, that was my Chinglish rearing its head—I meant to say swag, those goodies we give away at golf tournaments).
One S word has been at the front of my mind lately: share. The reminders of this word came via our Friday studies over the past two months. If you’ve had a chance to see them, you know they have been about participating in our mission in life. And that mission includes telling others about Jesus.
We forgive, encourage, and challenge one another to live a life that shows who Jesus is.In the Fellowship I attended, one of the golf questions from this study that people liked discussing asked whether we have ever introduced the game to others and about the pleasure that sharing golf with a child, grandchild, spouse, or friend can bring us. Lots of those in the Fellowships were really thankful they had taken the time to share the game.
If you have been reading along with us for a while, you almost certainly know that each of the letters in LINKS has a special meaning for us: Love God and others, Integrate Christ’s reign and integrity into all of life, Network friends together in Christ, Kindle compassion for the poor and needy, Share Christ through the great game of golf. Take up these tenets and you’re a Links Player for sure!
That fifth letter, S, calls us along with Paul to be ambassadors for Christ. We share what we’ve been given—the grace, the love, the truth, the kindness. We do this because we’re not Links Watchers or Links Talkers. We’re Links Players. We get involved.
When we share the “good news” of golf, we don’t just tell someone to go out and play; we take them, first to the range or the simulator and then to the course. With the good news of Jesus—what we call the gospel—we don’t just speak the words, but we invite people into the abundance of life in him. We forgive, encourage, and challenge one another to live a life that shows who Jesus is. When we go this far, we are really sharing! You don’t have to be a Bible scholar—just start with your story about how Jesus is changing you. And if you don’t have all the answers, it’s OK, because your role is to create and nurture a discipling relationship. Be faithful in this and you can be sure the Holy Spirit will be at work with you, doing “the inside job” of reforming a person’s heart.
I’m what they call “a people person,” but even I have to be reminded sometimes how exciting it is to share Jesus with others. I’m thankful for such reminders and I hope this has been a happy reminder for you.
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Dereck Wong
March 11, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.