And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)
Don’t ever think you are not being watched, even at your country club or the golf course where you play. We don’t ever escape the scrutiny of others who may be looking to see the chinks in our armor yet be drawn to the light that comes only from Christ.
A case in point. There is a wonderful Links Fellowship that meets each week at Southern Trace Country Club in Shreveport, Louisiana. A member of the group described this bunch as “a challenging cast of characters.” They meet in a corner of the men’s grill from 7 to 8 a.m. every Wednesday. Not many are around to observe, except the occasional club employee as they bustle around to set up for the day.
One morning, the head golf course superintendent asked if he could join the group when he wasn’t snowed under. Two to three times a month he would come. About a year later, he was to be transferred to another club in Oklahoma. His final Wednesday with the group, he told them that this small fellowship of men had really impacted him. It turns out that initially he did not feel welcome at the club and thought he had made a poor career choice, until that one day when he walked into the men’s grill and saw men studying God’s word. That “chance encounter” (his words; I would call it “God’s intervention”) completely changed his perception of the club and his career choice. He told the group he was inspired just because they were there, and it was exactly what he needed.
One of the members of the group offered this analysis: “I guess the point is we all struggle with life, with sin, our jobs, and a lot of other things. We never considered that someone was watching us, and that it would actually matter to someone that a men’s Bible study was taking place at our club.”
As Christians, we never know whom we impact. The impacting is God’s work, not ours. If we try very hard on our own to impact others, they will see through this ruse. Instead, the natural by-product of our walk with Christ produces a lifestyle and habits that draw others to Christ. How does this work? We are “being transformed.” Paul did not write that we have been transformed. Transformation is a slow, steady process that takes a lifetime.
I asked a good friend in one of our Fellowships recently to tell me his story. He started with, “I always thought I was a Christian until I met one.” I have been with many golfers over the last eight years and witnessed real transformation in the process. I know well enough to also know that it is God’s work. Thank God with me for his work and submit to his transformation. You never know who is watching!
—
Randy Wolff
July 8, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.