“The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” (Luke 6:40, NIV)
I have never been able to surpass my teachers.
When I first took golf seriously as a kid who wanted to make the high school team, my dad arranged for me to take a series of private lessons. My teacher had been an excellent high school and college competitor himself, and he took me to “the next level,” as they say—at least with my swing. It was my dad who remained my best teacher for putting and the short game. He was lights out with his old Bullseye, riding its precision to a club championship about this same time.
I don’t know whether we are supposed to compare ourselves to our teachers, but in golf it’s often a great goal to start with. The very best players go flying past their teachers, but most of us never get there. I remember playing with my swing coach after my game had started to take shape. We both hit good drives on a hole that is a bit of an illusion in terms of what you can see from the tee. I said, “I think I hit it out there with you.” He replied, “It’s like two stars: They look close together, but they’re millions of miles apart.” He was right. When we reached our balls, he was well out in front of me.
Time has passed, of course, and we’ve all gotten much older. I’ve beaten my dad many times, and when I see my swing coach’s scores in local events, I know that I’d beat him sometimes, too. But I’ve never separated myself from either of them. Sometimes I’m right there with them; often I’m not.
As a believer, I have the Holy Spirit living in me, but I also have sin there. I can hit the good shots in life, but I can also hit some very bad ones.
Sounds like my discipleship with Jesus—maybe yours, too. Once in a while, I get close to emulating my Master. That’s it. Once in a while.
I shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus said plainly that disciples don’t outdo their teacher. They are “like” him, but they aren’t him.
John wrote something equally humbling in his Gospel: “But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person” (John 2:24-25). What’s in me is not the same as what was in Jesus. As a believer, I have the Holy Spirit living in me, but I also have sin there. I can hit the good shots in life, but I can also hit some very bad ones.
I’ve been thinking lately about one place where I miss the mark: in my motives. Am I friendly because it’s truly caring, or because I want people to think well of me? Do I read my Bible because I want to know my Savior more intimately, or because it’s what “good Christians” do? Jesus never needed to ask such questions of himself. His motives were as pure as everything else about him—his thoughts, his attitude, his words, and his actions.
I’m not going to catch up to Jesus, but I hope one spark is always alive in me: the motive to be like him as often and as closely as I can.
—
Jeff Hopper
October 20, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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