“For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15, NASB)
I want to get better. I really want to know and love Jesus with all of my heart—to be counted among those who see and hear and understand and are healed.
Oddly this starts with recognizing that I am a devout sinner. That’s easy to see when I look at Jesus. There is no sin in him. But there is forgiveness, and he has given it to me. I am ultimately saved by the grace of God through my faith in God. From that foundational position, I am still learning about loving Jesus more.
One of the places I go to learn this and consider how to express my love for him is to my Links Fellowships. Many of you are part of a Fellowship in your club. It’s a place where men and women start with the common ground of golf or their club membership and move from there into conversation about things that matter. If you know me, you know how much I love to talk about important things with regular people. And as someone who has spent his whole life in the game, I can’t think of people any more regular than golfers!
In our Fellowships, one of our goals would be that everyone would see Jesus more clearly and know him intimately. The result of this would be a slow transformation to a life that honors God.
As a region director, I am actually involved in many studies each week, with a wide cross section of people who have had very different life experiences. The conversation can be so different in each Fellowship even as we study the same material. And yet, these people of different backgrounds engaged in different discussions can wind up in a very similar place when Jesus is among us. Let me share two recent quotes from men in my Fellowships:
“I knew God. He helped me see Jesus.”
“I knew about Jesus and I thought I knew about right and wrong. Now, I am really beginning to know Jesus personally and that has made such a difference in my life. I know I have a long way to go, but I want more of that in my life. Thank you for pointing the way to Jesus.”
You might recall the gospel account of the blind man healed by Jesus. The Jewish leaders tried to interrogate him on a theological level. This man kept it simple. He said, “One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).
Meeting Jesus doesn’t require a seminary degree, but it does mean you’re making an honest effort to see him and hear him and understand him. From there, you find yourself loving him. You give him your heart. I find that when that happens, our response is community, sharing and blessing others, getting involved in our local church, and becoming better citizens. I don’t know about you, but I want more of that.
—
Randy Wolff
February 5, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.