A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12, NLT)
Playing golf as a threesome is a great way to compete, have fun, and play fast. I like playing as a foursome, but I prefer a faster pace to “stay in the zone.” My patience is always tested when waiting to hit every shot on the golf course and enduring a five-hour round.
I used to put a cross on my golf ball, but the dimples always made it look like a plus sign, so I changed it to three dots to remind me of our Triune God.
I did an AI search about the number three and found the following:
In the Bible, the number three symbolizes divine perfection, completeness, and wholeness, most notably representing the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and appearing in significant patterns like Jesus’s resurrection on the third day, emphasizing divine power and new life. It highlights important people, events, or concepts, signifying their fullness or importance, such as Noah’s three sons or the three temptations Jesus overcame.
Jesus was raised on the third day, Jonah was in the belly of a fish for three days, an event Jesus identified as a prophetic sign of His own time in the grave. There are three patriarchs in the Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and Jesus’ inner circle included three men, Peter, James, and John.
The way Jesus invited his disciples into ministry in John 1:35-39 is a great example of what we should be doing as we invite our friends to our LINKS fellowships.
John the Baptist proclaimed he had seen the son of God in the earlier parts of the chapter:
The following day, John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus.
Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them.
They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “Where are you staying?” “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.
The next day, Andrew finds his brother Simon to tell him they have found the Messiah. Phillip then finds Nathaniel, and they, too, follow Jesus. More men were eventually invited to make up the original twelve disciples, and many more followed after Jesus’ work on the cross was complete.
I look at those three blue dots on my golf ball to remind me that my purpose on the course is to reflect the light of Jesus and to change the conversation from surface to substance, me to others, and temporal to eternal.
This is our mission. Let us make friends and invite them to follow us and learn what it’s like to have brothers and sisters in Christ.
Prayer: Jesus, we all need friends and companionship. Thank you for setting an example of building strong relationships.