Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46, ESV)
Every golf club has legendary stories passed from one generation to the next: stories about former foursomes filled with “characters,” talented players long gone, memorable rounds, and past PGA professionals.
Most clubs also have a handful of living members who remember the “good ole days” and can spin a yarn that keeps us captivated. Like most good stories, one is hard-pressed to figure out how much is fact and how much the story has grown through the years. As J. R. R. Tolkien reminds us, “Tales grow in the telling.”
Our locker room never lacks the entertainment of hundreds of tales from bygone days of glory. Many of these hilarious yarns revolve around one former club professional.
This pro was a “pro’s pro,” but he was on the grumpy end of the personality spectrum. Yet, he was respected, especially for his knowledge of the golf swing and his “old school” method of teaching.
One member recounts the time he was taking a series of lessons from the “Ole Pro.” He stopped by the pro shop and asked this legendary instructor if he would look at his swing. The pro mumbled something that suggested “yes.”
Eventually, the pro drove up in a cart, spent a few moments watching the member’s swing, and then drove away. Baffled, the member returned to the pro shop and asked, “Why did you leave?”
Grumpy as ever, the Ole Pro replied, “You aren’t doing what I told you to do in the last two sessions.”
Ouch! We were laughing so hard it hurt. But we also instinctively knew that there have been plenty of times in our own lives when we, too, had failed to implement what we already knew.
The gap between understanding and execution can only be narrowed by trust, repetition, and perseverance. The chasm between what we are and what we want to be is usually not crossed in one step, but through many.
When Jesus asks, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what I tell you?” he is making a similar point about the distance between intellectually recognizing the truth and actually trusting the Lord by following him in joyful obedience.
Jesus asks this rhetorical question at the end of a long sermon in which he outlines the values of his kingdom. When Jesus teaches, he is not merely giving moral advice or offering human wisdom for successful living. He is describing the pattern of life that develops when people follow him as trusting citizens of his kingdom.
Said more simply, submitting our lives to Jesus and his teaching does not earn salvation. Rather, joyful obedience is the outcome of a life of trust and dependence on Jesus as Lord.
The life built on the foundational rock of Christ goes far beyond a verbal profession of his lordship, religious heritage, emotional experience, or outward moral performance.
Professing our allegiance to Jesus as Lord is the verbal expression of a heart on fire for Christ the King. That kind of allegiance occurs when his amazing grace changes our hearts from maverick self-reliance to humble trust and dependence.
The question Jesus asks is not merely, “Do you know what I have taught?” It is, “What are you doing with what you know?”
Every golfer understands that hearing sound instruction and putting it into practice are two different things. The same is true spiritually. We can know Christian language, attend church, respect Jesus, or admire his teaching without surrendering to him. Jesus does not call us merely to appreciate him. He calls us to come to him, trust him, hear his Word, and follow him.
Prayer: Jesus! By your grace, empower us to go beyond admiration into a life of yielded and joyful obedience.