“Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the one true God; whoever takes an oath in the land will swear by the one true God.” (Isaiah 65:16, NIV)
At last week’s Frys.com Open, Links Player Derek Ernst was featured in a PGA Tour video making birdie on the thirteenth hole during his second round. The caption introducing the video read: “Derek Ernst plays the par-4 thirteenth hole perfectly from tee to green to card a birdie.” The hole is a dogleg right and course reporter Roger Maltbie spoke just before Ernst started taking his driver back: “Looking for a little left to right here.” But Ernst sent a towering hook up and over the trees on the right, and the ball came down on the left side of the fairway. Shocked, Maltbie exclaimed, “Oh wow!” Ernst went on to hit a short approach to about eight feet and hole the putt for birdie—despite playing the hole in the exact opposite way that Maltbie suggested the hole should be attacked.
So when it comes to golf, just what is perfection? Is it playing the hole as it is designed, or recording a birdie on your scorecard?
In golf, a hundred routes reach the same destination. While some are preferable in the mind of a good player, just about any one of them can produce a positive result.
But can the same be said for the journey to eternity? Is there more than one God who can get us there?
The Scripture is clear in both testaments that the reason God calls us to a singularity in our worship is not because he wants our affections above other gods, but because he alone can deliver what those other gods cannot.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God defined himself as the one true God. “Your blessings and your curses will hold,” he was saying, “because they are affirmed by the one true God, the only one with authority to affirm them.” And because God was speaking, the understanding was this: “I am that one.” If this is true, then all Scripture’s promises are carried on that same authoritative plane. The one true God alone can deliver eternity.
Yes, our culture struggles with this idea. People prefer that the spiritual landscape be like a golf course, with many avenues to the same destination. They want any number of “perfects.” Scripture, though, allows only for one. He alone is the true God. He alone deserves our worship.
—
Jeff Hopper
October 17, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Threads of Righteousness 1
Threads of Righteousness 2
Threads of Righteousness 3
Threads of Righteousness 4
Threads of Righteousness 5
Threads of Righteousness 6: God alone
Threads of Righteousness 8: Humble Selves
Threads of Righteousness 9: Humble Acts
Threads of Righteousness 10: Mercy Speaks
Threads of Righteousness 11: Acting Justly
Threads of Righteousness 12: Generosity
Threads of Righteousness 13: Faithfulness
Threads of Righteousness 14: Purity
Threads of Righteousness 15: God of Love
Threads of Righteousness 16: God’s Loving Plan
Threads of Righteousness 17: Acting in Love
Threads of Righteousness 18: Spirit of God
Threads of Righteousness 19: Spirit-led Living