The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. (Acts 11:29, NIV)
If you have ever been to a tour event or watched closely on TV, you know that the players don’t make their way around the course alone. Even if they are not near the lead and the camera and sound teams are not following them, each group is accompanied by a walking scorer and by a standard bearer, whose board-on-a-pole tells you how each player is faring.
You may have noticed an additional tag-along during the Open Championship last weekend. This was the local volunteer assigned to rake the bunkers. That’s what you call down-in-the-trenches help! And it isn’t the players who mainly benefit from this unique service. The caddies are ecstatic to have the task lifted from them—especially when rainy weather is requiring so much extra detail already.
While some people require help we cannot give because a specialist is called for, there are many whose needs are easy enough for us to meet.Help is something we can all use, in golf and in life. You may be thinking about your need for a helping hand even now. On the putting green. With a computer app. In the kitchen.
Other times our need for help is more desperate or more fundamental. To get started in life, we need a job. In a health crisis, we need an ambulance. As we age, we need assistance getting from place to place.
While some people require help we cannot give because a specialist is called for, there are many whose needs are easy enough for us to meet, as long as our eyes are open, our time is not leveraged to the hilt, and our spirit is willing. To close today, let’s consider these traits individually:
– When we become fixated on our own problems and our own plans, our eyes are not open to the needs of others (our ears may be blocked, as well). We aren’t good at looking for ways to help.
– When we target success and fill our hours with entertainment, we minimize our margins. We aren’t available to help as Jesus seemed always to be.
– But when we look and listen with intent, we identify the needs others have, and with generosity of time, talent, and treasure, we can love as Jesus loved—that is, with an open heart and open hands.
—
Jeff Hopper
July 26, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
On Location 1: Gathering Together
On Location 2: Then and Now
On Location 3: New Ventures
On Location 4: Partners in Ministry
On Location 5: Making Connections
On Location 6: The Round Ahead
On Location 8: Stepping Out
On Location 9: Lifelong Learning
On Location 10: Tough Stuff
On Location 11: Learning Together
On Location 12: A Good Solid Why
On Location 13: Room for Reflection