Fun, Fellowship, Salvation (& Golf)
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A new quarter of Sunday School had started at Immanuel.
Right off the bat each participant was asked to introduce themselves.
Already having plans to take in a round of golf later that afternoon,
I took advantage of the opportunity (shame on me!) by telling the
others I liked golf and slipped in the comment that, with his wife's
permission, of course, I'd love it if my friend Brad could accompany
me on the golf course this very afternoon. I admit that putting Brad's
wife on the spot like that was dirty pool, but then on the other
hand, it worked! We finished up class that morning with the homework assignment to write a paragraph on "What is salvation?". Because of the fun we had had in class the first Sunday, I thought I'd embellish my paragraph just a bit and have a little fun one more time. A Christian golfer's devotional called "In His Grip -- Foundations for Golf and Life" gave me the golfing metaphor I was looking for to answer my homework question and continue the fun. What follows is my Sunday School assignment. It received a few chuckles (even from Brad's wife) and was written in good fun. I hope you enjoy it too. Our golf foursome congregated on the practice green last Sunday afternoon with eager anticipation. As Jon, Brad, Bob and myself took turns stepping up to the first tee, my thoughts turned to why people play golf. Some come out for the excitement that surrounds the event. Others hit the course to see the incredible talent of the players, and to experience the drama that surrounds virtually every shot. By the time we finished the first hole, we had all been reminded that none of these were the reasons we were together. So why were we there? Perhaps it was to do our Sunday School assignment together and become better husbands and fathers (a stretch at best!). We certainly did practice traits that our wives keep telling us we should get better at. To name just three -- patience, fortitude, and encouragement. My three playing partners showed incredible patience as we searched for my ball near the river's edge. Bradley demonstrated tremendous fortitude as he endured hole two with his second triple bogey in a row, and Jon was ever the encourager as Bob blasted yet another ball out of a sand trap. As our group climbed the hill toward the 18th green, we were able to look back on the round, each knowing there were many places we could have cut strokes. Yet none of our efforts were so poor that we left feeling we could never get our game to the next level. And so it is with our lives! All of us have made mistakes, but none of us have messed up so badly that we can't spend eternity in heaven. Jesus has taken care of that! Our afternoon on the course turned out to be a meaningful one as we discovered together that Golf is a metaphor for Life! Salvation is available to each of us if we make the right choice. It can spell disaster if we G o O ut L ost F orever. Or it can mean glory because G od O ffers L ove and F orgiveness. Congratulations were offered to each other as we putted out the final hole. As we walked off the green, a sense of anticipation swept over each of us as we looked forward to working on this week's Sunday School homework assignment (weather & wife permitting, of course!) As we sat around our clubhouse table, a feeling of satisfaction filled the air, each of us knowing that for our efforts we would each return home better husbands, better fathers, and, oh my gosh, better hurry! We've been out here five hours!!! |
About the Author:
| Barry Holmen is a Christian educator and familyman from Minot, ND. He enjoys running and golf and playing with his two young boys. Barry also serves as webmaster of Immanuel Online. |