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START AND FINISH
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and
perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4, NASB)
A new journey begins for us all with a new year. A new start in many ways. 2006 will bring some mountain top experiences along
with some difficult valley experiences. Character and strength will be formed by a great number of small choices made along the way: The small choice to forgive as we have been forgiven. The choice to
choose God and not the lure of the world. The choice to love the unlovable. The choice not to cheat in small things. The choice to choose honesty.
Oswald Chambers wrote, "Character is the thing we must make, and it works in the same way when we are spiritual as when we
are natural. You cannot estimate a man's character by isolated things, but only by the main trend of life."
Character is formed on the difficult back nine when the bounces do not go our way. We become stronger or weaker by choice, we
do not stay neutral. Our response to the bad bounces and difficulties is the beginning of character building. Character represents the difference between our natural disposition and our actual response.
Let me give you two examples of men of character who are finishing the course well.
One is Byron Nelson. He experienced the best here as he won numerous golf tournaments during his illustrious career. Byron
knows that all these perishable wreaths are nice but not important in view of eternity. It is not so much what we produce that is important, but what is produced in us during the process. One of my
favorite sports quotes of all time comes from Lord Byron. On his 86th birthday, a Dallas sportswriter asked him about the legend that had grown around his golf accomplishments. Byron humbly responded, "I don't know much about golf. I don't know much about life. I know how to make a good stew, and I know how to be a decent man." Wow!
Coach John Wooden, the remarkable UCLA basketball coach, exudes character from a life of good choices. There's never been a
finer man in American sports than John Wooden--or a finer coach. He won 10 NCAA basketball championships at UCLA, the last in 1975. Nobody has ever come within six of him. He won 88 straight games
between January 30, 1971, and January 17, 1974. Nobody has come within 42 since.
Of the 180 players who played for him, Wooden knows the whereabouts of 172. Of course, it's not hard when most of them call,
checking on his health, secretly hoping to hear some of his simple life lessons. Like this one: "There is only one kind of a life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands
of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere. Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord,
because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters."
I believe that Byron Nelson and John Wooden have read the same book and patterned their life after another One who finished the
course well. "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39).
Now there is the example for all who desire a proven character to finish the course well.
--
Randy Wolff
January 11, 2006
Copyright 2006 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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