My friend Bill Saleme sent me a baseball cap emblazoned with a message:
PASTOR WARNING
Anything you say or do could be used in a sermon
The following story illustrates the truth on the cap.
I unloaded the golf bag and push cart from my trunk and walked towards the Biltmore Estates golf course on a recent afternoon. As I approached the first tee I saw a guy pushing his golf bag onto the tee box. I recognized him because he usually plays with two friends who attend Living Streams. I introduced myself and asked if he wanted to play with me. That is how I got to know Jack.
We agreed to have a competitive match, which I hoped to win. On the first tee, I hit a nice drive a couple of hundred yards down the middle of the fairway. Jack’s drive was thirty yards past mine. He outdrove me on the next two holes and hit high arching approach shots onto the greens. Jack swings a golf club with a fluid rotation of his shoulders and hips, coordinated to produce maximum swing speed which generates power.
As we walked the course, we talked about our churches, golf and his family. I learned he had started playing at the age of ten and often plays in tournaments. Our match was close because he missed some putts, so we were tied after the front nine.
Jack stopped twice to give me tips on getting out of sand bunkers. He also rooted for my fairway shots to go towards the hole. Only very secure competitors and those who love one another cheer for their opponents to do well.
On the back nine, Jack parred six holes in a row to take the lead before it got too dark to play anymore. I shook his hand and offered to give him a ride home. He declined, stating that his mother might not approve since she didn’t know me. Jack is 12 years old.
So, with all the problems in the world why would I write about getting beat in golf by a twelve year-old? I’m not trying to promote the next golf superstar. I was impressed by Jack’s abilities and by his character.
He was mature and respectful. He was helpful in his instruction and encouraging when I hit a good shot. He is dedicated to his development. He likes to listen to the Bible teacher at his Christian school. He didn’t brag about his good shots or swear when he hit a bad shot. Only once did he upset me when he said, “You really need to make this putt”, just before I choked and three-putted a green at a critical point in our match. I reminded myself, He is 12 years old and speaking the truth. I needed to make that putt!
People like to say that the coming generation doesn’t like to work, spends all their time on their phones, doesn’t respect their elders, yada yada yada. Not all of them are like that. Generation Alpha has some kids with good character and I wanted to introduce you to one of them.
I believe character really matters, whether you are a policeman, pastor or politician. Honesty, competence and faithfulness build relationships which bless others. Faithfulness to your family is critical, but even evil people can love their own family. If we are the richest, most powerful nation on earth, yet we don’t have compassion, kindness and generosity, we lose our souls and there is nothing great about us.
Jesus spent three years preparing his disciples so they would prioritize the love of God and their neighbors over money, positions and possessions. Jesus also made an incredible statement about the potential of believers. “Truly I tell you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” (Matthew 11:11)
Jesus said John was the greatest man ever born. John was greater than Abraham, Moses, Daniel or Isaiah. He was greater than Alexander, Caesar, or Aristotle. John lived to fulfill God’s purpose and resisted the temptations of the world. People walked miles into the desert to listen to him preach. After hearing him, they confessed their sins and got baptized in the Jordon river. John was the prophet who prepared them to receive Christ.
Nobody had better character than John, yet Jesus said, “He who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” Jesus is talking about those who would follow him, keep his commands and become filled with the Holy Spirit. He is talking about the incredible potential we have as his disciples.
Good character is critical, but character has limits. Nobody enters the Kingdom of God because of good character. People need God’s grace and power. They need to realize Jesus Christ died for their sins, he rose from the dead and will be coming again to judge the living and the dead.
We who are the least in the Kingdom of heaven have more potential to transform people’s lives than John the Baptist. When we knit our lives together in the body of Christ, we form a holy temple that God inhabits on earth. It is a mystery, but flaws and all, the glory of God shines through us when we are filled with the Spirit and part of the church Jesus is building.
As it says in Colossians 1:27-28, The mystery that has been hidden from past generations has now been made known to his saints, to whom God willed to reveal the wealth of this mystery…which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Let’s let others know that they too can have eternal life in Christ.
