But Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:11b, NASB)
Interesting words here: sacred and secular. One seems holy and the other points to the things of this world. The definition of sacred is “connected to God.” Secular may be the opposite. The dictionary definition of secular is “of or relating to the worldly or temporal, not overtly or specifically religious.”
What about golf? Sacred or secular? A friend told me that he thinks golf is sacred because he hears God’s name on the golf course more often than in the workplace.
Let me start with a question. What percentage of your 24-hour day is sacred and what percentage is secular? Think about that. Let’s say I spend an hour in prayer and Bible reading and an hour with my friends at a Links Players Fellowship studying and discussing God’s Word. That’s two hours out of 24 or 8 percent. Is that good?
My interpretation now is that it is all sacred—all of our day and all of our life experiences. There is no difference in the sacred and secular. God’s world and his people are all sacred. If my definition above is accurate, we are connected to God always through His Holy Spirit 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
I separated the two worlds. Maybe I thought I had the best of both worlds.Here is a bit of personal reflection and conviction that I experienced in my life. I became a follower of Jesus as the age of 42. I knew God saved me and had a plan for me. I also knew that I had a life of making money, playing golf, and being an integral part of a family with two young daughters. I loved the sacred moments of going to church and hearing God’s Word in such a fresh and new way. I got excited. I also experienced leaving that sacred world and doing just fine in the secular world. I separated the two worlds. Maybe I thought I had the best of both worlds.
This dual citizenship world continued in me for a while, but it became blurred the more I read the Bible and talked with God. God then started winning on those other days that were not Sunday. It is always a process and not just an event. I took “Christ is all and in all” to heart. A few verses later in Colossians, Paul made this statement:
Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:23-24)
Whatever you do!
The journey continues, and I still have struggles, but God gives me insight and understanding. Whatever we do, we should endeavor to do it well and know that the equipping and the glory go to God. After 13 years in a golf ministry, I do believe that I am getting better at treating golf as sacred now. Activities with friends and family are sacred as well. So are our struggles and doubts. God created us this way so that we would not separate sacred and secular. It is all God’s. All of creation. May we continue to treat everything God created as most holy ground. We live in a divine art gallery, and everyone we meet is eternal. Sacred relationships await us today.
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit around and pluck blackberries.
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning)
—
Randy Wolff
December 4, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.