So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NLT)
Tom Randall, former chaplain of the PGA Tour Champions, tells a great story about the first time he invited World Golf Hall of Famer, Hubert Green, to their Friday Night Fellowship. Tom said to the often surly Green, “Hubert, I’d love for you to come join us at Fellowship sometime.”
“Are you kidding, that room is full of a bunch of hypocrites!” he replied.
Without skipping a beat, the charismatic Randall quipped, “Well, just know there’s always room for one more.”
Hubert Green, who is now deceased, over time became close friends with Tom, eventually started coming to Fellowship, and even accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. Tom Randall was, and still is, the person that looks the most like Jesus in character of anyone I have ever known.
This was not always the case for Tom. As a teenager, growing up in inner-city Detroit, Tom was a pickpocket and a car thief. Who would have ever thought this troublemaker would one day be an international missionary and chaplain on a professional golf circuit who has led hundreds, better yet thousands, around the world to Christ, and an inspiration for me?
Mahatma Gandhi is quoted saying, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
Ouch!
Are we more confident in our belief systems, doctrines, liturgy, and theology than how we represent the kingdom of God in our speech and actions to others?There was a time when that kind of rhetoric offended me. However, now I realize Gandhi understood the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul better than I did for a long time. I focused on my knowledge and beliefs and overlooked my desire to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
Jesus asked his followers to put his teachings into action. “Therefore, anyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24, NASB, emphasis added).
What Gandhi observed was the British Empire’s domination and suppression of his people and God-given rights as a human being while his oppressors proclaimed to be Christian. They merged their colonialist greed with their cultural Christianity, but their treatment of him and the Indian people (as well as people of other nations) was far from Christlike. They wanted people to convert to Christianity, but they cared little about bearing the image of Christ to these people.
We need to check ourselves on this very issue. Are we more confident in our belief systems, doctrines, liturgy, and theology than how we represent the kingdom of God in our speech and actions to others?
Jesus emphasized one thing over everything else. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35, NASB).
If we want to be image bearers of Christ, then our actions must reflect our beliefs. If we believe in the teachings of Jesus, then we understand that putting love into action is a better reflection of our faith than what we simply believe. We need to start doing Jesus.
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Josh Nelson
March 2, 2021
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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