BEYOND SWINGING PRETTY

"These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgences of the flesh." (Colossians 2:23, NKJV)

Have you ever seen the historic portrait of Ben Hogan on the eighteenth hole at Merion in the U.S. Open?

Hogan comes to the last hole of U.S. Open needing a par to win. His strategy this time was to leave his ball on the top of the slope giving himself a relatively flat lie on his approach. However, even though the lie was level, he would still need a 1-iron to get home from that point.

Well, after Hogan struck the iron, one photographer snapped a shot that would forever be remembered as "the 1-iron."

Now, as a kid I would always look at that picture and think, Wow, what a golf swing!

Of course, my automatic assumption was that Hogan had stuffed that iron shot.

But this was not the case. In fact, I recently discovered that Hogan's shot came to rest 57 feet from the hole (not exactly a show-stopping shot).

What really made that shot famous was the great two-putt of Hogan's following the shot. If Hogan had three-putted, I can almost guarantee no one would have ever seen that picture. But, as history would have it, they did.

It is interesting how people perceive the game of golf. Hogan, for instance, was known for his uncanny ability to hit the ball wherever he was looking. Yet Hogan was really a late bloomer in professional golf.

At the peak of his career he stated that every course he played had a couple holes that didn't sit well with him. He said, "When I was younger, I would play those holes with an aggressive mentality, but when I was seasoned I would just play for par and continue on to the rest of the golf course." The result figured to be about two fewer bogeys a round and brought Hogan from a struggling tour pro to a premier player.

I say all this because as golfers sometimes we are deceived from the true substance of playing the game of golf—which is not to swing pretty, but to get the ball in the hole.

In Christianity the same thing holds true. Many believers live their lives trying to look good in the public eye by saying and doing the right things without ever having a relationship with the one true God. Our Christian life is meant to be about intimacy with God and sharing that intimacy with others.

Repeatedly, Christ pointed out to the Pharisees and Sadducees that their pride in knowledge and their showiness kept them from knowing the true depths of God's plan for them. Because of this mindset, they missed out on receiving the King that God sent for them.

As history has shown, there has always been a war within our souls that likes to turn a relationship with God into a religion governed by our own knowledge. But in the end, the religions will all fall away. Only God will stand in the ruins.

I pray that we all take time today to pray for a deeper relationship with the Father, and that He would continue to fill our spirits with a burning desire to see His kingdom established.

--

Jonathan Dudley

February 27, 2007

Copyright 2007 Links Players International

The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.