“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33, NIV)
For years, I have taken for granted the maintenance crew that keeps a golf course in tip top shape. That ended recently for me when a friend and I helped her mom with some on-course projects. This seems very obvious, as I have thanked the grounds crews and superintendents at tournaments before, but my appreciation has grown as I’ve pulled back the curtain on the details that go into making a course well-kept and beautiful.
We can generally agree that smooth rolling greens that hold approach shots are favorable, along with closely mown fairways. There are smaller details, like how the bunkers are maintained, the rough, if penalty and out of bounds areas are marked, ball washers, tee signs, bridges, pin placement sheets, scorecards, and access to drinking water that add to the golfing experience.
One of the tasks I had the pleasure of doing was finding the plates on each tee box that identified what hole it was and the yardage. The only catch was that the grass had grown over and you couldn’t see even a glimpse of at least a dozen of the eighteen. Thankfully, I was doing this with my friend and we each took a digging tool and started in opposite directions, circling the teeing area and poking the ground every few inches, hoping we would strike the metal if it wasn’t too far beneath the surface so we could cut out the overgrown grass and have them be proudly on display on each hole.
There is new life for us to taste and see in Christ. Praise God he is gracious and desires to be in relationship with us.While it takes constant care and attention to maintain a golf course, it takes continual care and attention to tend to our souls. My hope is that many of us have identified where we put our trust and hope and that it is in Jesus. Just as quickly as the grass grows over what has been firmly planted at times, we must constantly fight to pull out that which is getting in the way of covering up our primary purpose and identity.
As golf courses put markers on holes to indicate to the players the yardage and hole number, we as Christ followers have been given a light that is meant for all to see. Let us not hide it but shine brightly because of the hope we have and forgiveness we have experienced. There is new life for us to taste and see in Christ. Praise God he is gracious and desires to be in relationship with us. We see Jesus’ example in the New Testament that he prays for us and intercedes on our behalf. We have been given the freedom to have direct access to God through prayer and the reading of the Bible.
Before or after you tee it up next time, be sure to thank the golf staff and especially the maintenance crew. May you and I tend to our souls as carefully as the grounds crews do the courses we play. It is often best accomplished with others, in churches, small groups, and Links Fellowships, where we can encourage one another to shine brightly for him.
—
Aimee Neff
June 18, 2020
Copyright 2020 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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