God's Grace on the Golf Course

I played a round of golf with some friends the other day. That is an innocent enough statement. Please understand, I don't play golf nearly as much as I'd like to. The fact of the matter is, I play golf just enough to keep me wanting to play more. The golf course is not always friendly to me, and I'm sure there are people who are playing either with me, or behind me that wish I would choose a different part-time hobby. The last time I was on the golf course, though, brought some lessons I would like to share. The four-some on the course decided it would be prudent for our schedules if we played two-man best ball. For those not familiar with golf terminology, that basically means that we had two, two man teams. After each person hit the ball, the team could choose which ball had the best lie and would be able to play their next ball from that spot. It makes for a quicker and lower scoring game. On the first hole, my partner and I had some issues. We shot a +2 ~ two over par. My comment to my parnter upon entering the golf cart to go to the second hole, "New hole, new life." We had to consciously put that hole behind us. If we're not careful, we can dig ourselves a hole and get bogged down because of mistakes or bad days. It is a conscious choice to put mistakes behind us and start over. Incidentally, we went on to par the next few holes. Later in that round of golf, I hit a shot on a par 3 that landed on the green. That's precisely what was supposed to happen. The reason I say it that way, is that many times, the shots I hit don't do 'what they're supposed to do.' The putt that followed surprised everyone on the green ~ especially me! It fell into the bottom of the cup! Yes, I birdied the hole. The positive words that came from both my partner and the two friends we were playing with served to encourage me. I've hit a lot of golf balls, but few have actually gone where I fully intended them to go. I was thankful for the good play, and equally thankful for the encouragement from my friends. The back nine was not as kind on the whole. In fact, on one hole, both my partner and I hit our tee shots and we weren't sure where either of the balls landed. The trajectory of both balls were, to say the least, not headed for the fairway. The friends we were playing with extended grace. They offered to let us hit a mulligan. A mulligan is a 'do-over'. Hit another ball, without a penalty. We didn't deserve their kindness and generosity. We accepted it, of course, but we didn't deserve it by any means. By the end of the round, both my partner and I were tired. He had driven a couple of hours just to get to where we played golf. I had stayed up all night working. Both of us were playing on bad knees. He didn't have any ligaments in one knee and I have a knee with basically bone on bone and no cartilege. As we approached the 18th tee, we were ready for the round to be over. But we finished the round. Good, bad, or ugly, we finished what we set out to do. The fellowship was incredible! To be able to hang out with some of my best friends in the world is enough to make the day a great one. We are able to talk about a lot of things while we're enjoying a day on the golf course. We are able to talk about grace and how God's grace amazes us. We are able to discuss how we are able to extend grace to one another. We are able to put grace into action even as we miss a shot or hit a ball where we don't intend to. Those are mirrors of what God is to us. When we miss the opportunity to do what He wants us to do, or we are offended by someone's hurtful comments to us, we can practice extending grace. All men are born sinners. We have all been condemned at birth. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). But we have all been extended grace. When we didn't deserve it, Christ took our place on the cross. Even in our most unlovely state, He chose to die for us (Romans 5:8). Be encouraged today to love someone in spite of their faults or quirks. Jesus set the example to love us; now let us love them.