When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, …he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. (Exodus 34:29, NIV)
For some people, golf is a religious experience. They go to the temple faithfully, pay their tithe, flagellate themselves on the range, humble themselves on the course, commune with their fellow congregants, and go home sullen.
For others, the game is a spiritual journey, where the walk in the open air enables them to see nature and hear themselves think. Their soul is soothed, and they leave “a better person.”
But few, I am guessing, are able to parlay from golf an authentic encounter with God. They are not driven to their knees like a terrified Martin Luther in the lightning-lit woods. They do not come to grips with their sin and fall in repentance. They do not persist in prayer, wrestling like Jacob until the blessing of God is given. They are not reading the Word of God, or reciting it as they go. And they do not hear from the Holy Spirit as he speaks to their questions and concerns.
There is a likely reason this is so. Golf is too much like life.
As we conclude our study of how God uses real world pictures to convey his revelation to us by way of metaphors, we do well to recognize—and admit—how poor we are at seeing these pictures with any great clarity. This is because for every towering pine and shimmering lake in the real world, there is an appointment to be kept and a paper to be filed. For every rocky crag that is home to some hearty and industrious creature, there is a sticky problem to be solved in the human home of the creature that is me. Whether the disturbances come from our work projects or our work relationships, whether the demands are made by a home repair or a home mortgage, whether these can be solved today or must wait until tomorrow, when it comes to the goodness of God, they all have the same effect—they do not allow us to see him as well as we might.
So what may be done? Namely this: Stop! Whatever it is you normally do, whatever plans you are sure you cannot change, whatever friends must be called to make arrangements, sometimes we must be severest with ourselves that we might make room for God. He wants our time and attention, and when he gets it, he does unmatchably well by us. He gives us the very best thing he can give us. He gives us himself.
—
Jeff Hopper
December 9, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Real World God 1: Introduction
Real World God 2: The Nature of Grass
Real World God 3: Trees & the Kingdom
Real World God 4: Grains of Sand
Real World God 5: Rocks in the Way
Real World God 6: Mixed Messages