Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” (John 11:40)
Does golf make sense in the spiritual realm? It’s just a game, but we do this with eternal friends. We try to return a score that creates a golf identity, but what is really remembered? What lasts?
Jesus and His people last forever. Relationships merge into eternity, where the remembrances are sweet, pure, and life-giving. How does that compare to what you shot last Thursday?
There might be a spiritual component to the journey of playing a round of golf with everlasting friends and studying God’s endless word together.
God could use that time in a mighty way to nourish and enable us to see things that are not seen, because 2 Corinthians 4:18 reminds us that “things that are not seen are eternal.” That makes spiritual sense.
Our faith and trust in Jesus compose an orchestra of Spirit-filled wonder that becomes so evident by doing life with uncommon folks and an eternal God.
It will never make common sense that Abraham obeyed God’s command to go up the mountain and sacrifice his only son. Abraham trusted God anyway and went up the mountain with his only son and all the ingredients to make a fire. He also took a knife. He fully intended to use it. Does that make common sense?
How were Daniel’s friends saved in the fiery furnace? Can you imagine a river parting and immediately walking across on dry land? How about turning water into wine or healing a leper? Or walking around a city seven times because God told them this must happen before the wall would fall? This does not make common sense. Only God could do that.
The resurrection of Jesus makes the most spiritual sense of all. It was for us that He died and rose again so that we may live.
Getting together for fellowship with men and women makes common sense. The transformative power of gathering can only be understood in the spiritual realm.
I recently visited a wonderful group of men involved in a Links Fellowship in Durango, Colorado. It is led by Ron Martin, Ed Dudley, Bob Wiman, and Dan Jones. They stepped forward, and God qualified them for a time such as this. That is only understood in the spiritual realm.
Following golf and our dinner, three men from the Fellowship were asked to explain what the Links Players Fellowship has meant to them and why they consistently came to study God’s Word together. What followed was remarkable.
They could not explain their answers until the emotion and tears subsided. Their sincere love of Jesus was evident, and the sustenance gained from their time together overwhelmed them. And me. It was amazingly powerful.
“So much is distilled in our tears, not the least of which is wisdom in living life. From my own tears, I have learned that if you follow your tears, you will find your heart. If you find your heart, you will find what is dear to God. And if you find what is dear to God, you will find the answer to how you should live your life.”
(Ken Gire, Windows of the Soul)
I now see God more clearly because I am looking for Him in the common experiences that can lead to spiritual significance. This spiritual sense can only be understood when we are granted the power of the Holy Spirit to see through His eyes. And when I experience this, I must tell someone. I think I just did.
Prayer – Thank you for giving us the gift of understanding spiritual truth. What is seen is temporal, but things that are not seen are eternal.