For I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20, NIV)
When a golfer finishes her round, a common first question is what did you shoot?
While it is easy to find our worth in our performance among friends and fans, our performance cannot justify us with God.In college athletics, I see young women every day with their emotions swinging up and down, questioning their worth, especially based on their performance. It’s easy to see why: parents, friends, coaches, and media all tend to treat players better when they score well and pay less attention to them when they don’t.
Truth is, no one wants to play poorly. I’ve yet to meet that young golfer or old golfer who intentionally hit it in the water or meant to three putt (except for maybe Annika Sorenstam, who at the end of a tournament when she was young feared giving a winner’s speech, so she intentionally three-putted to take second place).
If only we competitors—at every level!—realized that our score does not define us.
While it is easy to find our worth in our performance among friends and fans, our performance cannot justify us with God. In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Dead people can’t make themselves come back to life or even throw up a hand while they are drowning. God saves us not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saves us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). Not just golfers, but all people in any profession need to know it is Jesus’ performance on the cross that justifies us, not our job or our good works. As believers in Christ, we have a new identity. The old has passed away and behold the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17).
We are free to play golf boldly, unafraid of what others may think or say, though it is hard to do.
But in all important matters of life, may we be like Paul in 1 Corinthians 4 and not be concerned with what others think of us, nor regard even our own thoughts of ourselves; rather, let’s focus on how the Lord views us. Our true identity is found in Christ. We were made for God’s glory. Our Maker, not our golf score, gives us our worth and value.
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Aimee Neff
April 21, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.