Golf Devotions: Play with Forgiveness

Recently, I had the opportunity to play alongside my friend, Victor, and witness one of the most impressive comebacks I've seen on a golf course.

We started on Hole 18, where Victor made a bogey. By the time we finished Hole 1, he had recorded a double bogey. That immediately caught my attention because I had never seen Victor so far over par so early in a round.

Fast forward to the final hole, Number 17. Thunderstorms were moving in, lightning surrounded us, and everyone was eager to finish. Despite the rough start, Victor closed out the round with a par and posted a 76. What a comeback.

Golf is an incredibly difficult game. Even the best golfers in the world struggle to hit great shots consistently. They miss fairways, chunk chips, and lip out putts. All of us have our share of bad shots, some more than others.

When things aren't going our way, it's easy to become discouraged. Years ago, someone told me that "golf" spelled backward is "flog."

Sometimes the game can leave us feeling exactly that way, beaten down, tormented, and frustrated.

The reality is that we all experience failure, both on and off the golf course.

Romans 3:23 describes our condition perfectly:

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

When it comes to obedience, love, and faithfulness toward God, we all fall short. We are all experts at sinning. Scripture makes it clear that every one of us is in need of forgiveness and grace.

Thankfully, the story doesn't end there.

The good news of the Gospel is God's forgiveness through His Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, one of my favorite words is forgiveness.

We all need it.

Golf, however, is not a forgiving game. Every poor shot, every missed putt, and every penalty stroke goes on the scorecard. In many ways, golf resembles God's Law, it reveals our shortcomings and exposes our weaknesses.

But God offers something golf never can: forgiveness.

The word gospel literally means "good news," and the good news is that God extends forgiveness freely through Jesus Christ.

While golf keeps score, God offers grace.

As Scripture reminds us:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."— 1 John 1:9

And again:

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace."— Ephesians 1:7

So let's live our lives, and play this crazy game of golf, under the promise of God's forgiveness through Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross.

Victor could have mentally checked out after those first few holes. Instead, he stayed focused, kept playing, and finished with an excellent score. Most of us may never shoot as low as Victor, but every one of us can finish each day knowing that we are forgiven.

In the end, that's what matters most.

May we continue to enjoy the blessings God has given us as we gather each week for fellowship, friendship, and a few rounds of this wonderfully challenging game.