Yesterday, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Davis and Ms. Kilpatrick, I was able to attend my very favorite sporting event, the Masters. This great golf tournament is known for the "roars" among the towering pines. Because the course routes back and forth on itself, and because it is an older course (original design and construction in 1934), one can move from hole to hole with relative ease. There are no neighborhood developments or houses to worry about on Augusta National's property. This means when one person birdies a hole or hits a shot worth cheering for, the sound echoes and reverberates throughout the golf course - thus, the "roars". The closer and closer the tournament comes to its finale on Sunday afternoon, the louder and more enthusiastic the crowd and its cheers become.
Phil Mickelson in the 2004 Masters. It was his first Masters victory.
It is a very special place and even more special atmosphere. If you are ever given the opportunity to go to this event, do so. You will not regret it.
Yesterday, I got a chance to watch some of the tournament from my favorite hole, the 16th. From my vantage point, I saw Tiger Woods birdie the 15th hole, to which the crowd erupted with cheers. Then, second round co-leader, Ian Poulter hit his tee shot to about 8 feet on the 16th and made his subsequent birdie putt. We cheered loudly for that, too. Many in the crowd threw their hands up, some applauded loudly, others whistled and others simply yelled loudly. The patrons (as they are referred to at the Masters) are normally reserved at the Masters, but they certainly cheer for great accomplishments (see the photo of Phil Mickelson's winning birdie on the 18th hole in the final round 2004). My point here, we cheer when we see a great event that evokes excitement and emotion.
We see similar, even more boisterous cheers in college football.
Georgia Tech's Anthony Allen scores a touchdown against Clemson, Sep 17, 2009. Far left: Derrick Moore (Georgia Tech Chaplain) cheers on Allen's touchdown run. Photo courtesy of ajc.com
When we see our favorite athlete (I love watching golfers like Tiger, Phil, Anthony Kim, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, etc) or our favorite team (mine is my alma mater Georgia Tech) do something great, we cheer very loudly, enthusiastically, sometimes to the point of being and looking ridiculous. The other day (and here's where this all ties to my spiritual journey) I had a thought, "Why don't we cheer the same or similarly for those that repent and turn toward God?" Jesus told us in the Parable of the Lost Sheep that the angels in heaven do so:
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7 (NIV)
Some of you may think, "church is a solemn and holy place" or you may say "worshiping and giving praise to God is different than cheering in sports". Those are good points. However, my point here in this blog is that our hearts are more apt to celebrate the worldly things, sports and athletics, more than spiritual achievements. I have been guilty of this most of my life. Don't take this the wrong way, there is nothing wrong with celebrating sports and athletic accomplishments. College football is a good thing, the Masters is a good thing, so long as we are putting God first in our lives. Where I see the issue is when we see someone repent (especially those we love), get baptized, put their faith and trust in Jesus, why don't we cheer? Why don't we boisterously clap? Afterall, they are changed for eternity! Forty years from now we won't remember who won the National Championship in 2008, or the 2010 Masters, but for eternity we will spend with our Savior and Lord if we place our trust in him! We know that Jesus will win in the end, so why not celebrate those that we will spend eternity with?
My believer's baptism, September 20, 2009
Maybe I'm off base here, since I'm still relatively new (3 years) in my Christian journey, and maybe the angels celebrating is enough. But this question was placed upon my heart about a week or so ago, and attending the Masters was a reminder of this. Maybe cheering out loud is not appropriate in church, maybe it is. But I believe it certainly deserves the at least the same emotional energy, if not more, than what we spend cheering our favorite athletes and teams.
My question to you today is, "What are you cheering for?"
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. -John 19:38 (NIV)
I know, I know, its been like a month since I last blogged. Please forgive me for my absence. Yesterday in our Sunday School class, we discussed John 20. For some reason, my attention was drawn to the passage prior in John 19 (in my Bible it is directly above John 20 on the same page) and specifically verse 38. You read the verse at the beginning of this entry. The sentence I want to focus on today is the "Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews." I think a lot of believers can relate to that sentence.
Joseph of Arimathea is best known for providing the tomb for our Savior (granted it was only a temporary need - Praise God!!). Because he was able to do this, we can safely conclude that he was a wealthy man at the time and perhaps a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin. Therefore, he had a lot to lose, in the worldly sense, if fellow Jews found out that he was a follower of Christ. There are many in the Body of Christ today that are just like Joseph. Despite the freedoms we have in the United States and other countries around the world, many of us find ourselves in F.E.A.R., or False Evidence Appearing Real, when it comes to sharing with others our beliefs. Fear is not of God, but of the evil one. Satan loves to leverage fear to keep the church from growing, and to keep Christians from sharing their experience, strength and hope they find through Christ with others.
I have certainly suffered from my share of fear about sharing my faith. I didn't have to fear my life as Joseph my have, but I did have fear about losing my livelihood since my testimony has many things that are so counter cultural to where I work. Again, that was False Evidence Appearing Real. Once I placed my Faith (the opposite of fear) in God for the results and took a step of courage, I was able to share my story. I was able to keep my secrets out in the light where they could not grow. No one laughed at me. No one mocked me. No one ceased being my friend. In fact, most of them were encouraged by my testimony. And most importantly, I grew closer to God through Christ in the process.
Some of you reading this might be thinking, "Yeah, that's nice for you but still, I have this atheist boss at work...." or you may be thinking, "what will my friends think of me if I tell them I believe?". Have faith. Remember, it takes a bit of courage. Even if you still struggle with that there is good news for you. God is still using you to accomplish His purpose. Look at Joseph, because he kept his faith to himself, he was able to secure the body of our Savior from Pilate. I'm not sure if one of the eleven would have been able to take Christ's body for burial. So God used Joseph's secret faith for His Glory. Of course, we come to discover that prophecy is fulfilled and the grave was defeated on the third day when Jesus was Resurrected! Amen!
So if you are trusting in Christ secretly, know that God is still using you. I encourage you TODAY to take a small baby step, like Joseph did, and do something in faith that will begin to tell others Who you work for and Why you have Hope and Peace. You may be surprised as to how much God will do for you in what you cannot do for yourself. God met Joseph right where he was at. While the bible does not say, some writings from the era suggest that Joseph began preaching in Gaul with Phillip. Joseph was not living his faith in secret then.
On this, the day after we celebrate Christs' Resurrection, ask yourself, "How much am I letting my faith infect all areas of my life?" and then ask yourself, "If my friends were asked if I were a Christ follower, what would they say?"
God bless you abundantly today!
