On Following Through

I played golf with my dad today. I'm pretty terrible at golf, but I enjoy getting out there and playing. I say I enjoy it. Sometimes I get really mad and frustrated at myself because I hit a lot of bad shots, but overall, I enjoy it.

I'd love to tell you about how I got a hole-in-one, but that would be a lie. Instead, I'd like to talk about form. Although I'm pretty terrible at golf, I know a little bit about technique (I just have a hard time implementing it in my game).

One of the most important things you have to do in golf is follow through. You can't just hit the ball and then stop. Following through provides direction and increased power for the ball. Not to mention the fact that following through is the natural motion produced by the swing.

When you don't follow through, bad things happen. The ball slices really badly. The shot ends up going nowhere. You end up on the other fairway and saying bad words to yourself. However, when you follow through correctly, the ball (usually) goes where it needs to, and the results are productive.

Following through is vital to discipleship. We are commanded to go and make disciples of all nations. This is a lengthy process; however, many people treat it as a say-a-prayer, get baptized kind of thing and that's it. Many times our evangelistic efforts end up leading people to a false and worthless religion because they have no clue what a relationship with Jesus is all about. Nevertheless, we feel like our job is done because we "led them to Christ," now they can take care of themselves.

Not true.

When we share the Gospel with people, we have to follow through by discipling them. We have to give them guidance and direction. We have to help them understand what a relationship with Christ is really about. We need to help them keep traveling forward instead of stopping dead in their tracks.

If we don't follow through with people, bad things happen. And discipleship is a lot more serious than hitting a little white ball could ever be.