Playing God’s game of life 

by Joey Cooper
 

     Two years ago I went to buy a new driver. I told the salesman that I didn’t really care about the brand name. I just wanted one that would go 300 yards, right down the middle every time. He reached behind him, without looking, grabbed one, handed it to me and said, “This one has the capability of going 300 yards right down the middle every time.” So I got to thinking , if I know what yardages I hit each iron—What do you hit 150 yards—and I have a rangefinder that shows me the distance to the flag so all my putts should be inside 6 ft, I should start birding every hole, that’s 18 under par. (Jeff you better be on your game today.)

     What’s wrong with my logic? First when that driver gets in my hands, it won’t hit a ball 300 yards and for some strange reason, it won’t go straight very often. And the irons also don’t go the distance I think they should go. All putts aren’t straight or within 6 ft. Look at these fairways—they’re not level, they put sand bunkers and Scott and Tom you both know how I like sand, and they even put water in my flight plan. And then there are trees, wind and rain. So much for my great plan. But isn’t this the same way for us as Christians. God gives us short term missions or opportunities, that’s the par threes; God gives us long term missions or opportunities, that’s the par fours and God even gives us long or lifetime missions, that’s the par fives. The sand traps, rough, water, wind, rain and uneven surfaces are what Satan uses to deceive us. In
Galatians 5:19-21 we read about the works of the flesh—lust, adultery, jealousy, hatred, envy, idolatry, and other things that Satan uses against us. Some of these are like a sand trap we can get out of, but some are like the water that carries penalty strokes (loss of family, friends, trust, money, health.) 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” And I believe he has strategies and plans in place for every Christian who is living for Christ. He wants to destroy our ability to stand for the Lord and ruin our testimony. So how do we get from tee to green in our lives?

     First do we have the right equipment? Read Ephesians 6:10-11. What else do we need? What about a caddie? Remember the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance? A disillusioned war veteran, Capt. Rannulph Junuh reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf against Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. After the first day he’s nine strokes down and it’s not until he starts listening to his caddie, Bagger Vance who teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret of mastering any challenge.

     God has given us a caddie. Read 1 Corinthians 2:9-12. Through listening to our God-given caddie, the Holy Spirit, we can know how to get from tee to green. He helps us avoid the traps, the rough and the water when we focus on His instructions. And He will teach us the secret of being an authentic golfer for Christ. We need to use the USCGA to bring friends and family who may not know Christ, and if they are Christians may need this time of fellowship with other believers. You can pay their way—I paid $70 to rent clubs—we do what we really want to do. It’s not about rules and scores, it’s about glorifying God. So that one day we can say like Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race or course (in our case) I have kept the faith.”