This month’s blog comes with an apology in advance! I’m not always one who likes or prefers sports metaphors when it comes to explaining certain concepts (especially Biblical things). Reason being, there are times when something that makes sense to me doesn’t connect with everyone. Truth be told, not everyone is into or follows sports. So I respect that. But this entry centers around a bit of golf terminology which I hope will make sense. And no, you don’t have to be a golfer to understand this message.
It is July and summer is in full swing. I’m not a great golfer by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy a round or two during the summer months. Getting a chance to play with my Dad or my sons is always a welcome experience. In golf you have various aspects of play depending upon where you are on the course. At the tee (what is considered “the long game”), you have the opportunity for a long shot…hopefully to make it closer to the hole and the green. As you move closer to the green, the distances get shorter and shorter (“the short game”) and the shots have to become more and more accurate. Eventually landing on the green is the shortest part of the game as one putts and tries to deliver the ball squarely to the hole.
I hope I haven’t lost anyone so far. As I thought about golf recently, I considered these varying aspects of the game (short and long) and how there is some correlation (metaphors) here for the life of faith we have in Christ. We live in the short-term and day-to-day of what life brings. But we also live in the long-term of where we will be in 5, 10, 20, maybe even 50 years down the road. From there, we even think of the ultimate long-term destiny: where will we spend eternity.
These are two aspects of our faith (short game and long game) and two things we have to balance if we are to run our race in Christ well (sorry, more sports analogies). I have come to recognize that just as in golf, my faith can be unbalanced if I am stronger in one area over the other. But I strive to maintain and excel in Christ in both the immediate and in the future.
As always, I have a few points here to expound upon all of this. And I hope by the blog’s end you will understand that we are in the tension of both what we face now and what is to come. Somehow the Lord oversees all of it, yet is in all of it as well. To me that is simply amazing. Let’s jump in (or tee off!).
1. The short game of our faith recognizes an easily defined target
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10,11
I’m working a bit in reverse as I go through these points, recognizing that on the golf course, the game moves from long to short. But I feel in life, we move more from short to long in our perspective on things. The short part of our faith journey focuses on established choices for each day; things which are targets we aim for (much like the green and the tee). For myself, I see a target of daily Scripture reading and prayer as a goal I must hit. The short game of knowing what I face in that day depends upon having the grounding that comes through the Word. Without it, I easily stray.
Over a year ago, I did a podcast series on the Full Armor of God. In this series was the acknowledgement that each day we must put on this armor (I’d encourage you to check out the series if you haven’t). Being equipped each day with these various pieces brings an understanding that the short game will bring daily battles — spiritual ones. The enemy knows that the trials we face at any given moment can rattle our faith, if we are unprepared. The armor brings a sense of readiness and preparedness and keeps us on target in Christ.
2. Playing the short game well means we make right choices again and again
And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes…praising God and having favor with all the people. Acts 2:46, 47
The early church in Acts was described as a group that met daily in homes and in the temple. This sort of practice leads me to believe that it is daily steps, taken over and over, that bring about a deepening of our faith and overall favor in the Lord. What happened as a result of those daily choices? The church grew. The people were unified. There’s a lesson from the Acts 2 believers that we can learn from. Don’t stop meeting together. Don’t stop making those daily choices that grow your faith.
In total honesty, the hardest parts of golf for me are the shots and putts I need to make as I get closer to the hole. I get bogged down many times as I’d rather just hit drives from the tee and make long shots all day. But it’s the short game that frustrates me and adds the most strokes to my score (meaning a bad round of golf). In faith, I’ve come to recognize that consistency is the hardest part for me because I’d rather move onto bigger, weightier things. But what if the weightier things come as a result of our recognition that God meets us in the day-to-day and mundane of life? I believe He shows up in those moments.
3. Long-term plans need continual course correction
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. Proverbs 12:1
When I think about the long-term outlook of life, I’m thinking about where God could be leading me this upcoming year or where my family will be in 5 years or what it will look like when my wife and I are empty-nesters (many, many years from now!). Into that planning, I realize one thing is glaringly obvious if I’m going to succeed: I need Godly wisdom and correction. As the hymn says (Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing), I’m “prone to wander.” My default setting is to revert back to my old ways and my old patterns of thinking and behavior.
Again in golf, we can hit a good drive off the the tee but what if it doesn’t go straight? Or what if the next shot needs to be adjusted for an angle on the course (dogleg) or a sand trap or water hazard up ahead? Correction is hard. Discipline doesn’t always feel good. But it ultimately serves us well because it sharpens our faith. And it keeps us going in the right direction, moving closer and closer to the likeness of Jesus Christ.
4. The long ball must reflect an eternal mindset
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
The consistency we must have in the short-term and day-to-day must also be something that arises from year to year and decade to decade as we grow in the Lord. It may not always be readily apparent in ourselves but when others look at us, they can see it; they know. You know you are growing in some of those areas when things doesn’t bother you as much as they did in your younger years of faith. Temptations are still there, but they don’t trip you up as easily as they once did. And love and all the other Fruits of the Spirit are becoming more and more evident in your life.
This all reflects an eternal mindset. A mindset that embraces Galatians 6:9 — if we don’t quit, we will reap what comes at the end. Yes we look for some of that reward in this life time (and I believe God gives us some glimpses of it). But we know the final and greatest reward comes in our heavenly home-going. To see Jesus face to face and to hear the words “Well done good and faithful servant.” To me that is the long-game I’m playing and want to mark my life by. If nothing else is known about me besides that, then great. May Christ be our chief aim and may seeing Him when we die be our joyful hope.
Again, I apologize for so many golf references but I felt like there was a correlation here that I couldn’t avoid. Maybe there’ll be golf in heaven??? I don’t know but I do know it will be a pretty amazing place that is beyond our comprehension right now. In the here and now and till eternity, I do know this: ultimately the game and the course is all the Lord’s. We have to daily surrender to Him what He is calling us to lay down. We have to make those course corrections and humbly take discipline as He gives it. As we do, we see ourselves getting closer and closer to the target, the hole, the finish line and we see His smiling face waiting for us.
Guys I hope that encourages you today and if so, would do something for me: would you share this blog with someone who needs to read it? If you’re on my email list, you can simply forward it. If you’re online and on my website, you can copy and paste the link or you can hit “share” towards the bottom of the page. Why do I ask you to do this? Because I believe many are living with a wrong view of either the long or short. Many are living in the moment with no concern for tomorrow. Others are so focused on tomorrow that they are missing out on what’s right in front of them. We have to get this right and we need God’s help. Brothers and sisters, I pray this will resonate with you and as always, I’d love to hear from you if you have questions or just need someone to pray with you.
As always, I love walking this journey with you. God bless!
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Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Ephesians 5:15-17