You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy;
in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11, NASB)
Tommy Morrissey is golf prodigy at the age of three. He can hit drives that carry 100 yards in the air. He recently met Tiger Woods, who was very impressed.
Here is the rest of the story. He does this with one arm. Tommy was born missing his right hand and part of his right arm below the elbow. Little Tommy got interested in the game of golf watching it on television and playing with his dad, an avid golfer. His father contemplatively remarked about his future in the game: “Right now we do not know if golf will be a paragraph, a chapter, or his life story.”
I believe this insightful quote is an interesting way of describing our priorities in life. How would you describe your life in following Jesus? Is it most important or just part of the filler in your life story? Would your life with Jesus be a paragraph, a chapter, or your life story?
It is all about relationship and time. What do we really love, and where do we spend our time? What do we think about? What do we really treasure?
The song “Love is Motion,” by Jon Troast, reveals the truth that we are all getting better or worse. We don’t just stand still. Our habits/thoughts/actions create a pattern, and our life story is being written as we do life. What will the sum and ending say?
Would those who know you best call you a Christian? The definition of Christian must be one who follows and imitates Christ. Our life’s story is really for others to tell. It is not for us to determine or manipulate. The ones who know us best know our real story.
I just played in a golf tournament with a good friend who recently lost his wife of 47 years. He was loyal and faithful for the past four years as she battled the effects of a debilitating stroke. During this difficult time, he would remind me that he and his wife were in the middle of a manuscript. That manuscript is being written by God. The trials and storms have driven him closer to God, and even now as he goes on with life without his mate, he realizes that he is still in the middle of that manuscript that is being lived out. He wants to finish his story well.
How we live today will determine how we will be remembered tomorrow. And always remember, it is an audience of one, the Lord, who will make the final determination. God’s perspective will determine if our relationship with him has been a paragraph, a chapter, or our life story. We have the blessed choice to cooperate with the Master Planner in the story he is telling the world through us.
—
Randy Wolff
May 12, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.