“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses…” Hebrews 12:1
I do not typically hang out with sixteen-year-olds. But on a recent trip to Scotland, one of my traveling companions was my friend’s teenage son. I loved this kid, but I quickly discovered that the so-called Generation Gap was a Grand Canyon.
He is a Baltimore Orioles fan. So, I decided to test the width of this canyon. I started with an easy one. Who was Brooks Robinson? Eyes wandered to the ceiling. No idea.
Okay, how about Frank Robinson? Huge smile- but no idea.
Jim Palmer? Never heard of him.
Boog Powell? No idea. He finally told me he had heard of Cal Ripken, Jr. Bingo!
And then he nailed me in return! What did I know about the current Orioles star, 24-year-old Gunnar Henderson? I had to admit- never heard of him.
The generation gap game continued onto the golf course. As we arrived on the 6th tee at Carnoustie, I told my young friend about this famous hole and Ben Hogan’s 1953 win in the British Open. The par-five is affectionately known as Hogan’s Alley. “Ben Hogan? Who’s he?” says my young friend. That was a stunner.
This devotional popped into my mind before we had finished walking down Hogan’s Alley.
I believe it helps to know the history of golf, if you want to be great, or even good. The great players are there to ‘inspire’ you to be better. When I was a kid, it was mainly Palmer and Nicklaus. Others came along.
Eventually, I heard about Hogan, Snead, and Nelson. I wanted to swing like Gene Littler. Contemporaries like Bill Rogers and Ben Crenshaw and Larry Nelson inspired me as I got older. I started wearing my collar up because my neck was skinny and Johnny Miller did it. He seemed very cool to me. I wanted to know his story.
Now, transfer this idea to spiritual matters. How many people claim to be “Christians” (I put this in quotes on purpose) but have no idea who the key characters in the faith really have been?
How many so-called “Jesus fans” have no idea who the basic characters of the Bible really are? Jesus did not come out of nowhere. The story starts with all the people in Genesis, like Abraham. Do you know him? How about Joseph? Moses? King David? Elijah and Elisha? Flunked all that?
Okay, let’s go to the New Testament. John the Baptist? John the Apostle? Is he John one, or two, or three? Maybe you know Peter. Basically, we are illiterate of Christian history and yet claim to “follow Jesus”.
So let me make a bold statement! It is virtually impossible to truly follow Jesus Christ if you have no curiosity about how and why He got here. The story starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation. Do you know this story?
If you need to know the heroes of the faith, start with the 11th chapter of Hebrews. You will read about Cain and Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and more! Then go find the details of your spiritual ancestors in your Old Testament.
PRAYER: Oh God, thank you for the heroes of faith who have gone before us and shown the way. Amen.