Even angels long to look into these things. (1 Peter 1:12, NIV)
Too many times Jason Day has been asked who he “thinks” the number one player in the world is at this time. It’s a loaded question, with the reporter hoping against hope that Day will stir the pot by saying something along the lines of, “That would be me.”
Of course, it doesn’t matter who Day, or anyone else, thinks is the top-ranked player in the world. There is a system in place for that, and all the players are subject to it. It is the system, not the thoughts of this fan or expert or player, that has made Rory McIlroy number one at the end of one Sunday and Jordan Spieth number one at the end of the next. Meanwhile Day, though he may be the hottest player going right now, has to wait his turn for the system to advance him.
The operative word in that sentence, however, is may. Without a doubt, Jordan Spieth was the hottest player in the game right up to the moment he was not. Now he is anything but hot.
And so, if you’re looking for a final answer as to who is number one, maybe it is a very good thing that we have a system in place!
Coming to answers in other arenas is no easier. Even science—so often hailed as the arbiter of all that is factual—is unresolved on many issues. Ira Flatow, the host of National Public Radio’s Science Friday said not long ago in a dialogue with science patron Alan Alda, “What people don’t realize is that science is a snapshot of what we know at the time, and over time it’s self-correcting.” To this, Alda replied, “It’s supposed to be anyway.” Here were two men who love science admitting to its limitations.
Which leads us to a matter that concerns us more than it should. Why, we often wonder, can’t we have all the answers about God? When pain wracks our body, when grief does not ebb, when confusion makes for restless nights, when our prayers seem never to reach heaven—these are the times we wonder whether any answers are available at all. Who is God? Where is he? Why won’t he tell me more?
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we see through a glass dimly, his words were not so much a lamentation as bare fact. David wrote with more frustration about such a lack of knowledge, but David had not seen the fulfillment of the Messianic promise as Paul had. Paul was content in his limitations because he held to the one thing that was constant: the loving sacrifice of God to free us of our sins and grant us inheritance with his Son in eternity.
No, it’s not that we have all the answers. It’s that we have the one answer we need. Peter wrote that this is what the ancient prophets and angels alike longed to have revealed to them. You and I have it! The Savior has come and completed his work. For all that is dim, that one beautiful thing is perfectly clear.
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Jeff Hopper
September 14, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.