The Brighter Side
The Brighter Side
Why do I play golf? Seriously, what’s the point? It’s like paying someone to heckle me. It’s so annoying when I miss a wide-open fairway and boomerang the ball right into the trees. I’m disgusted when I clumsily bunt another easy 4-foot putt wide of the hole. And how many times will I woefully watch my ball nose-dive towards a water hazard - - - - - - - splash.
How can anyone love a game like this?!
It’s a question that’s been pondered since the day the sport was invented, but for me, the answers are simple:
1. Golf is a great vehicle to spend quality time with my son, and I love watching him progress as a player (he’s already better than I am).
2. Regardless of how I play, I can experience the beauty of God’s creation all around me on the course.
3. Every once in a while there’s a magical day where everything just works. I hit the ball straight and true, I don’t make all the normal silly mistakes, and all my putts somehow find a way to drop in. I actually experience the joy of the game the way it was intended to be played!
Well, as all golfers have undoubtedly questioned their love for the game at times, most Christians have surely pondered this thought: “How can God love a person like me?” Just like on the golf course, we’re always making the same mistakes in life – missing open fairways of opportunity, failing simple challenges that should be as routine as a 3-foot putt, or nose-diving into hazardous areas when we’re tested.
But in spite of all that, it's so encouraging to know that God still wants to walk the course with us! He knows mistakes will happen, but He desires to spend quality time with His children. He loves to see us progress, and yearns for those days when we put it all together without the mistakes -- those magical days when we can experience the joy of God and His creation as it was intended. What an awesome incentive for us to stay on the course!
1 John 3:1; 20 How great is the love the Father has given us so freely! Now we can be called children of God. And that’s what we really are! Our hearts may judge us, but God is greater than our hearts. He knows everything.
- Ron Reid