Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20, ESV)
I write with joy. When we conceived the idea of a Links Player and laid out the five-letter acrostic for LINKS, which represented five core values of who we are and what we do, I only hoped they would stand the test of time. But they have.
Recently I had some time with my partner in those early days, Tom Flory. Together, we pondered what we had wanted the letters LINKS to stand for so long ago and rejoiced that these fundamentals remain important to the Links Players leadership today.
Fundamentals get a bad name sometimes. They are dashed past as only “basics.” But if basics are the basis for what we do, they should not be ignored but frequently revisited. For the same reason a Tour Pro or expert amateur makes sure he or she is sticking close to his fundamentals, we stick to ours. Which means we go back to them regularly. We have a plan to do that for you ahead of the Masters in April.
Before we get there, I would like to revisit our original idea for those golfers we have come to call Links Players.
Though we wanted to exalt Jesus Christ, we did not want our name to turn someone off who might be open to him but who was not comfortable with religion. We thought the name Links Players was fresh and wouldn’t turn anyone off—and it was backed by the LINKS acrostic (what we now call the Links Player’s Mission). It had a neutral feeling to us.
In a nutshell, Links Players are those golfers who follow Jesus. Some may only be starting in earnestly seeking him, but they are moving toward becoming committed followers.
True Links Players are people who love God and golf. Who are salt in the earth and light on a hill. Golfers committed to using their recreation for the glory of God and not merely for themselves. Not religious, in the sense of being encumbered with rules, regulations and rituals. Apprentices of Jesus. Possessing a caddie’s heart. Bent on serving their Champion. A player, not someone walking in a gallery.
The PGA Tour Pro goes to battle day-by day, week-by-week, month-by-month, year-by-year. Likewise, we envisioned a Links Player as someone who daily accepts the job of servant, is linked with Jesus, and follows him in both character and practice.
A Links Player might be poor, so poor that he doesn’t even own a putter. Or so rich that he owns one or more golf courses. He might be the least known golfer in his city, or one of the best-known players in the world. Someone with purpose. Someone who cares for the poor, downtrodden, lonely, and brokenhearted of the world. Someone who knows he or she is a sinner and needs a Savior.
A person doesn’t need to play to be a Links Player. My wife Lorraine is one of our best Links Players. All the qualities of a Links Player I described above, she has them all. And she doesn’t even play golf.
All Links Players are on a journey.
Some are a little further along than others. But each can make a difference in the life of another if we…
Get in the game. Become a player. And make ourselves available.
—
Jim Hiskey
February 21, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.