“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20, NASB)
Golf trips. I love golf trips. Until a few years ago, we would annually make a pilgrimage to Alabama to play the Robert Trent Jones Trail with about a dozen good men. We had great fellowship in the evenings and mornings and the days were filled with golf on the challenging and rolling Alabama terrain. Fond memories and moments I will not forget.
Salvation can never be accomplished through any kind of work. It is simply a free gift that we must accept.I specifically remember Gordon on this one trip. He was the new guy and spent a lot of time the first evening on the balcony of the hotel smoking. He would occasionally join us in the meeting room as we discussed some important things concerning our individual faith journeys. I was not sure how much he wanted to be there with us.
He did join as we were ending for the evening and made this revealing statement that was so refreshing to hear: “Guys, I did not want to come on this trip, but I know now that I need to be here.”
Realizing our need is a great starting point in our spiritual journeys. Do we really need the God of the Bible? Was Jesus serious when he asked, “What can I do for you?” Jesus knew we needed a Savior, so he responded with the cross, forging the way for our salvation today.
Lewis Greer, the Links Players region director in Arizona, offered a beautiful thought about his calling to golf ministry. Lewis said, “No, this calling doesn’t tug on the heartstrings like being a missionary to the slums of a South American city or the jungles of Indonesia, but just like those folks, the people I talk to every day need Jesus—they’re just harder to reach.”
They are harder to reach because they do not realize they have a need, or they know they have a need and try diligently to cover that need with hard work and accomplishments. But salvation can never be accomplished through any kind of work. It is simply a free gift that we must accept.
Today’s scripture from Revelation 3 reveals the truth that Jesus is standing at the door knocking. He wants to come into our life. We must open the door to let him in. Artists have painted this image of Jesus standing at the door knocking. In many of these paintings, there is no doorknob on the outside. We must open it from the inside to let Jesus in.
Gordon opened the door to let Jesus in some time after our trip to Alabama. Last month, Gordon died and went to his eternal home. His other memorable quote from that week in Alabama was, “I believe this trip is more than just about golf.” Gordon now knows for sure.
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Randy Wolff
June 4, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.