…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18, NAS95)
My home course is, for Arizona, of the older variety. Classic, you might say. Built in 1948 and designed by William Bell, one of the leading architects of the era, the clubhouse and several holes lie on the mesa for which the city of Mesa is named. Others lie below the mesa, while still others are either up-to-down or down-to-up. Those are obvious, and fun.
But Bell incorporated some elevation changes that are not obvious, so after my friend’s approach shot on the third landed short in a bunker rather than on the green, I pointed out why—the hole plays about seven yards uphill.
Remember that most people aren’t aware of the eternal, so speak of it when you can.Standing on the green and looking back down the gentle slope he said, “I can see it now. Why didn’t you tell me about the elevation before I hit?”
It made me wonder if someday a friend would ask, “Now I see. But why didn’t you tell me about the eternal sooner?”
Most of us, including Christians, don’t think much about the eternal because we are so wrapped up in the temporal. The writers of the New Testament thought about it often, though, with the word eternal finding its way into the text at least 70 times.
More than half of those are about eternal life, but here are a few other things said to be eternal: dwellings, God’s power, a house not made with hands, God’s purpose, sin, destruction, comfort, the King, glory, salvation, judgment, redemption, the Spirit, God, inheritance, fire, and the gospel.
Of course, the temporal includes how I played today, football scores, weather, course conditions and more important stuff than that. It’s fine to talk about those things, but if the conversation (not just conversations) at your club is only about things that are seen, which are temporal, how will people begin to think about the eternal?
All you have to do is be aware of the eternal yourself, then remember that most people aren’t aware of it and speak of it when you can. Just like my friend would have wanted to know about those seven yards, so people genuinely care about the eternal. No sermon is needed, just a comment here and there.
Do that and you will be changing the conversation, because the eternal always trumps the temporal. And that’s a cool elevation change.
—
Lewis Greer
September 12, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Changing the Conversation: From What to What?
Changing the Conversation: From Gossip to Truth
Changing the Conversation: From Surface to Substance
Changing the Conversation: From Political to Spiritual
Changing the Conversation: From Me to Others