Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:8-9, NIV)
I play golf with a lot of good players, people who can hit shots that I cannot.
Now this may seem odd, but there is certainly a real measure of joy in the fact that their skills exceed mine. While I enjoy the game at a reasonably good level—there are others who can’t hit shots that I can!—I know my limitations are many. Plenty of bombers drive it 10-20 percent farther than I do. Lots of players have the guts to carry big hazards because they hit high, lofting long irons. And I just got off the phone with a friend who made nine birdies in his round the other day. I’m sure I’ve had nine one-putts in a round before, but mine were nearly all for pars or bogeys.
I suppose I could argue that if I’d just given the time to the game that these better players have through the years, I could be right there with them. And I’m no complacent fatalist who’s resigned to letting my game degenerate; I’m still trying to get better, even as my body is getting worse.
But the simple bit of perspective that there are golfers whose excellent shots give me a dose of pleasure beyond what my own efforts can produce sure makes a difference in how I approach the game. In fact, it’s great to get excited for my lucky friends, too—those not-so-good golfers who pull off the crazy miracle every now and then.
In so many ways, this is the perspective we must have about our walk with Jesus. And I would say this is especially true when it comes to joy.
We can take away a slice of joy when we look at the things we have done in our lives. Some would tell you that this is especially true when they do kind things for others; they find tremendous satisfaction in serving dinner at a rescue mission, tutoring a child who has no home support, or helping a widowed neighbor do odd jobs around the house. And yet these same people would also tell you that their joy is often met with groaning—the groaning that there are so many others who need that hot meal, that nurturing instruction, that compassionate hand. The swath of sin’s sickle is a whole world wide. The needs are endless.
That’s why, while the Bible allows for lesser joys—the joy of the demons falling, the joy of Christian brotherhood, the joy of new births in Jesus, even the joy of trials—we find “inexpressible and glorious joy” in only one source. Joy in its fullness is locked up in Jesus. It’s defined by him and delivered by him. He is the one who hits the shots that we cannot. Like those great golf partners of mine, he is both the one far beyond us and the one walking right alongside. Joy in him never comes up short.
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Jeff Hopper
January 31, 2012
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday through Friday at www.linksplayers.com.