Daily Post: Glaring
Tuesday was a tipping point for me at the Senior Men’s Golf Association match. The format for the day was “4-man Shamble.” It’s a simple spin on the “scramble” format where everyone on the team hits from the best previous shot. In a “shamble” Everyone tees off from their normal teeing area, everyone plays from the best “drive” location, then keeps their own score throughout the rest of the hole. On Tuesday my scorecard total was 76 (6 over par of 70) for the day. It was the day I’ve worked for, for a long time. Breaking 80, even in a shamble, is not that easy to do.
When a person wants to be a good golfer, that person must be able to strike the ball solidly, in the correct impact position, and consistently on each shot throughout the round. This means making contact with the ball as close to the “sweet spot” as possible (center of the club face). The club face angle and path of the swing will both determine if the ball flies toward your intended target. In golf terminology this is called “The Moment of Truth,” and refers to the exact instant of impact. The inescapable moment of truth for me Tuesday was in one clearly established fact: I am capable of doing this… so no more excuses.
Golf analogies representing real life applications are often glaring and blinding like the sun. Some of these truths are unmissable. The Grace of God as an eternal truth is one of these inescapable truths. In exactly the right time of human history, God the Son humbled Himself and became a human embryo planted in a virgin’s womb by God the Holy Spirit. He wasn’t coerced, compelled, obliged, or bullied into this choice. It was the ultimate expression of love and grace, demonstrated in Jesus giving His life so I might live. In this image (in golf-speak), I am not the player, or the club; I am the ball. I am the one impacted by God’s divine swing. So, here’s the thing. As the ball, I’m inert and incapable of any movement (high, low, near, or far) without God in control of the club. Additionally, we must understand, God’s swings perfectly every time.
So if the Moment of Truth is about striking the ball solidly, and consistently, and from the correct impact position… when God’s grace saves me, then leads me or guides me into action, it is His power which is evident in me, and it is perfect. However, the glaring truth is: grace must be received, to become enacted for change in my life. Remember Paul’s words?
Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Let’s not get bogged down with the analogy. That’s usually the trouble with preachers, too much application of an analogy, breaks down over time. My point in this article is to suggest that we are capable of becoming the person God designed us to be. The person living in correct relationship with Him, will always, not just some of the time, be impacted by the grace of God offered to us in Jesus.
We can’t work to be saved. We can only be saved by Him, then be the glaring light of Christ to the world around us. When we do this, when we receive His grace, trust His Lordship, then we too can experience the tipping point realization where we can say “yes” to Jesus consistently. We are capable of this commitment, we have choice, just like Jesus did. Once made, once a person steps over the line of faith into Jesus, life will never be the same.
It will be better.
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As I was saying... 