Colossians 3:23-24

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

We often feel underprepared when we step on the first tee. We haven’t taken a swing or practiced a putt all morning or all week for that matter. However for some reason, we have an expectation for our best round ever. We then get disgusted when that first ball goes straight toward the trees or only bounces 20 yards in front of us. We act like we are surprised even though we had that same result last Saturday too. Many times, we live our spiritual lives in the same fashion. We haven’t studied or prayed all week, but when we attend worship service on Sunday morning we expect heaven’s gates to open up for us and for God to give us a great revelation for our life. Our expectations far exceed our preparations! We like to deflect responsibility to a screaming baby or to the preacher who must not have been prepared because “I got nothing from the sermon today.” We cannot expect a spiritual payday on Sunday when we have been absent from the Word and it’s work the rest of the week. We can all do more for our spiritual lives which in turn will not only strengthen our own lives but it will grow the spirituality of our families and those around us. Our children and spouses will take notice if we are seen studying the Bible or praying before our family meals. When we forsake a morning on the couch and instead go to the church to cut a limb hanging by the entrance door, go to the grieving widow’s house and mow her lawn, or read that chapter of the Bible instead of just the highlighted verse, we are rewarded in ways more valuable than anything reflected by a bank account. Work done from the heart is not measured by widget production or sales. Spiritual gains are measured from within and most importantly from above – we have an inheritance to gain!