Welcome to the Course of Life
THE SCORECARD for the Course of Life is in many ways similar to the scorecard at your favorite golf course. It comes with a description of the challenges we all must face. While Life can seem more difficult for some (like the back tees) and easier for others (like those short tees up front), in the end we all must play the game—and our swings will be revealed for what they are.

SOME COURSES feature names for their individual holes, and if you were to break Life down into its most significant components, you might find recognizable names there, too: Childhood, Education, Maturity, Relationships, Business, Parenting. Each of these arenas of Life—like each hole on a golf course—provides us the opportunity to test our mettle.

THE TROUBLE IS THIS: no one plays a perfect round of golf, and no one lives a perfect life. Sometimes, maybe often, we walk away from both the game and Life with a heavy dose of frustration. And much of this frustration has to do with our own failure. The “scores” we would record for our lives miss par by a long shot.

Professional help
WHEN GOLFERS cannot reach their goals, they frequently start looking for a professional’s help. They take lessons and follow a practice regime established by the professional. In this way, their game begins to take shape and improve. But it will never get to perfect. Golf is just too tough that way.

LIKEWISE, when people struggle in Life, they will seek out professionals. Sometimes these are psychiatrists or counselors with degrees in helping others. Other times, people will seek help from religious leaders, like pastors or priests. But again, because Life is hard, even with the best intentions and the strongest determination, there is no way to reach perfection.

OUR BEST OPTION in Life, then, rests in something outside ourselves. The Bible is clear that while our imperfection (called sin) separates us from God, there is a mediator between us and Him. That mediator’s name is Jesus Christ. By choosing to follow Him in belief and in action we can walk a course in Life that leads to eternity, based not on our perfection but Christ’s.

The Perfect Round
JESUS CHRIST, who was the embodiment of God on earth, lived a perfect life, even in the face of direct temptation and severe persecution leading to His death on a Roman cross. He did this willingly, the Bible tells us, so that His perfection could redeem our imperfection. Talk about the perfect round! In Christ, our unrighteousness is made holy before God, who will be our judge.

WHILE THERE WAS GREAT PAIN for Christ in this, there is great joy for us. The Bible tells us that if we believe with our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved. Former U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson has said, “Once I took that step and said, ‘I do need Christ,’ here is what I found: that my faith has grown in me. The more I study, the more I understand. The more I go to church and interact with other believers it just keeps reinforcing the truth of what the Bible says. I do believe that Jesus loves me, and that He can help me deal with anything we might face in this life.”

TODAY IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY to take that step in beginning Life with Christ. You begin by praying this prayer: God of Heaven, I know that my life is anything but perfect. But I see now that through Your Son Jesus Christ, You have made a way for me—in this life and in eternity. Take my life today, and make me more like You. Amen.

THE COURSE OF LIFE SCORECARD introduces the need we all have for the saving provision of Jesus Christ, who died to redeem us from the spiritual damage done to us by our sins—a damage that would have eternal consequences if we could not depend on Christ in faith.

If you have read the Course of Life scorecard and are visiting this page in order to find out more about the claims and Scriptures it mentions, that information is offered as you scroll down through the pages of the scorecard below.

You may order The Course of Life Scorecard here.

The Bible references below are given to show where the statements of the scorecard may be found and supported in Scripture. All references are drawn from the New International Version.

“If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

“...there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Psalm 53:3)

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” (Proverbs 15:22)

“...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...” (Romans 3:23)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” (1 Timothy 2:5) “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
 

“...if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.’” (John 6:68)