Therefore, Jesus answered and was saying to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:19 NASB)
It is a rare occurrence when the weekend before Christmas has the sporting world’s eyes on a live televised golf event, as this is the off-season for the PGA Tour. That was not the case this time around at the PNC Championship (formerly known as the PNC Father/Son Challenge). Tiger Woods made his first competitive start in many months after a horrific car accident last February.
This exclusive family-centered event is a favorite amongst participants. A major championship victory serves as a pre-requisite to be considered for an invitation to the professional player, who then gets to bring a family member to compete with them.
For anyone who has watched the NBC telecast of the tournament over the years, you cannot help but notice the similarities and nuances of the sons playing with their legendary fathers. To many fans’ amusement, this was highlighted numerous times by the broadcast team of Tiger Woods and his adorable twelve-year-old son, Charlie—who, by the way, finished Runner-up to Team Daly.
Over the years at this event, we have seen the comparison of sons to many of the greatest players in golf, including, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Nick Faldo, Tom Watson, Vijay Singh, Raymond Floyd, and many others. As a son of a Hall of Famer and someone who participated in this event many times, I can vouch for the other sons; the comparison is welcomed but rarely warranted.
As great of a complement as a comparison to a worldly successful father is, I cannot imagine ever being likened to the Father of all Creation. Yet, this is exactly how the Apostle John refers to Jesus in today’s verse. As his followers, this resemblance should be our objective as well.
Jesus did not come to make himself famous; rather, his focus in everything was on making his Father known to the world. Jesus later went on to say, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me” (John 12:49-50).
Jesus, being just as human as you and me, understood that he could only do his God-given assignment by completely following that which his Heavenly Father laid out. We, too, have the heavenly assignment of making God known by adopting his will as our own; however, many personal agendas often get in our way.
We do ourselves a great disservice, often disguised as an unspoken excuse, when we claim the Son of God as part of the Holy Trinity but fail to see the complete humanity of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus depended on God for everything he did and showed us what it looks like to please God here on earth. Jesus did not come to make himself famous; rather, his focus in everything was on making his Father known to the world.
Jesus prayed over his disciples, “I have [made known your character] to the men whom You gave Me out of the world” (John 17:6). It gave him great pleasure to do so while passing along the same assignment to his disciples and to all who would ever believe in him through them.
The model has been set before us to become more “like the Father”; we must focus on becoming “like the Son.” The challenge will be to have the humility to remove our own agendas so that we may see his unfold in our lives.
—
Josh Nelson
January 18, 2022
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