Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2, ESV)
Perhaps, like me, you stayed up (very) late two Saturday nights ago and watched the final putt drop in a seven-for-one playoff in the men’s golf competition at the Olympics.
“It wasn’t for the gold medal, it was for bronze,” some have said, “so why would I stay up?”
That’s a fair question, especially if you yourself have already won a gold or silver medal in an Olympic event.
But if, like me, you have never been in the top three in the world, it makes you sound a little jaded. On the other hand, I know that both golf and the Olympics suck me in like an industrial vacuum picking up a feather, so maybe it’s just me.
In any event, if you didn’t watch it live or on replay, you missed one of the sweetest moments I’ve seen in a golf tournament.
The playoff for the bronze medal got down to two players, and one of those was C.T. Pan, playing for Chinese Taipei. His wife, Michelle Lin, came along as his caddie. It was hot and muggy on the course, and both players and caddies worked hard to get through the four days of stroke play.
As we gain strength, we can begin to participate again, whether that is by helping carry someone else’s burden or taking back our own.
Now C.T. had survived three extra holes with Michelle on the bag. As they walked down the eighteenth for the third time that day, Michelle had the bag over her shoulders, but several of the clubs were in the hands of her husband.
Although I’m an American and a Collin Morikawa fan, at that moment I knew I’d still be happy if C.T. Pan won the bronze.
“Bear one another’s burdens” Paul wrote to the Galatians. I don’t think he had caddies in mind when he wrote that, but it might apply. For many caddies, it applies beyond carrying the clubs.
What was beautiful about C.T. and Michelle is that they really were bearing one another’s burdens. She was carrying his clubs, and he was carrying clubs she might have been carrying.
In life we sometimes don’t feel like we can pick up a single club. Someone else has to carry our burdens, whether those are physical, emotional, or spiritual. But as we gain strength, we can begin to participate again, whether that is by helping carry someone else’s burden or taking back our own.
There are dozens of amazing pictures in sports that come to mind, from runners picking up a fallen runner to a father pushing his son in a wheelchair for an entire race. And now there is C.T., carrying four or five clubs so his wife didn’t have to.
Of course Jesus carried our burden to the cross. He died so we could live. While we live, then, we should be on the alert to see what, or who, we can pick up. Thus we love, fulfilling the law of Christ.
—
Lewis Greer
August 11, 2021
Copyright 2021 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay