"God and Golf" (Part 1)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV).

I am more than ever convinced that our world is in such a state of change in our world today that most of the stabilizers we have come to know and trust are being shaken, if not destroyed. These days are full of challenge for which only a clear understanding of the Scripture will be enough to carry us through. Today’s reading is such a passage. G. Campbell Morgan, one of the premier expositor’s of the Scripture wrote of this passage:

“There is an irresistible charm about this passage. The suggestion that lie within its compass appeals to us. The mystery of the cloud of witnesses; the strenuous reality of the description of the present experience of the saints under the figure of a race; and finally, the lonely splendor of the Lord of faith. It seems a ruthless thing to dissect and analyze a passage so full of beauty as this.”

And I won’t do that in the coming days. However, I do want to lay a plan before you of four simple truths that will change your life. I’ve chosen the illustration of golf to help. Thus the title of the series: God and Golf! Did you know that golf is the greatest participatory sport in the world today? There are more than ten million amateur golfers in the US alone. We have over ten thousand golf courses, and over $ 2.5 billion dollars invested in them. Over $200 million was spent on golf clubs alone last year; and my favorite statistic is golfers lose $50 million worth of balls every year! It is both the most enjoyable game and the most frustrating for me. However, there are some fundamentals of the game that must be observed to be successful that are strikingly similar to the Christian life. We’ll consider each in turn over the next four days. They are: You must have the right stance; you must have the right grip; you must have the right swing; and, you need to have the right follow-through.

Before we do that please draw your attention to the writer’s first words: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. I’m not sure who these witnesses are for sure, however I have a notion they are some of three groups of beings. There are the angelic beings who look over the threshold of heaven and marvel at both the capacity for good and evil of our actions. There are also those who have gone before us numbered as the faithful who look on encouraging us to run well. And, perhaps most importantly there are those who are around us today who look on and wonder both how we can do such good and such evil in the name of God. If we are ever to be successful in our lives, we must do much more good than evil! Will you commit yourself to developing the four principles of success in your life today? Let’s run the race to win! Let’s play the game to win!