Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. (James 4:11, NASB)
“The best thing we can do for others, therefore, is to do the law and love them, not judge the law and judge them.” -Gregory A. Boyd, Repenting of Religion: Turning from Judgment to the Love of God
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Golf can never be played perfectly. Neither can life. What we all have in common is that we are sinners, and we need each other.
I think golfers understand this truth more than many others because we have all been humbled by this game many times. When we see our competitor or playing partner going through a rough stretch of holes, I know my own response has been, “Been there. Done that. I know how he feels, so I can never gloat.”
Recently, I was playing with a good friend and Links Player who has been struggling with his game. He has been taking his emotions home with him and it has been affecting the way he lives his life. But this round started differently. Birdies and pars on the first few holes. In fact, he had three skins through the first four holes and we weren’t playing carryover. On the fifth tee, I sidled up to him and said, “Well, are you getting the big head now? Do you think you have found the secret and have it under control?” His immediate response was, “Oh no! I have been humbled too many times by this game to ever think that.” He was right, and the last few holes were a witness to that truth!
We know how grateful we have been when a brother or sister picked us up along the way, gave us a mulligan in life, and just loved on us.Sin in our life humbles us as well. When our brother sins, let us not be too harsh or quick to judge his sin. We have all been on that other side when our own sin tears our heart out. We know how grateful we have been when a brother or sister picked us up along the way, gave us a mulligan in life, and just loved on us. Pure brotherly love covers a multitude of sins. “Sin is taken seriously when we realize that apart from Christ, we are all in the same septic tank of condemnation together” (Boyd).
We must realize that our own sin has been irrevocably exposed, but the great news is that it has been overcome with the sacrificial death of not only our Savior but our Lord as well. When we come close to loving others as Christ loved us, we are given hope and understanding, our brother or sister whom we loved through their mess is given new life and impacted forever, and God is glorified and magnified. What a beautiful process!
The martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The Church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ, but is Christ himself who has taken form among men.”
This is an amazing transformation: a sinner in the same septic tank of condemnation is transformed into Christ himself as he goes forth and loves on his brothers and sisters. I want to worship the God who enables us to do just that today!
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Randy Wolff
Originally published October 4, 2011
Copyright 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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