…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… (Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB)
Most instructors agree on certain principles when it comes to the average golf swing. We can take some individual liberties and make our swing our own, but for the most part, the experts follow certain basics: how far our feet should be apart for different shots, teeing up the ball off the inside of the forward foot when hitting our driver, tucking our back arm into our body as we swing, eliminating any excess motion in our swing, etc.
It has occurred to me though, that the area in which we have the most dramatic differences and yet the most freedom to experiment is putting. Think Bernard Langer standing straight up and down using a long putter, Michelle Wie (for a time) bending over at a 90-degree angle, even Jordan Spieth (again, for a time) fixing his head turned towards the hole as he hit the ball. There is the “claw” grip or the “left hand low” grip for right handers. Whatever works, works.
Eyes are often used in symbolic ways: they can represent clairvoyance, omniscience, or a gateway to our soul.What I have found in my own putting is the need to control my eyes. Why? Because somewhere inside of me I have convinced myself that my ball needs me to follow it from the time I hit it until it goes in the hole. Or not. There is, of course, a problem with this approach. My head wants to turn with my eyes and they aren’t always in sync. Thus, my head has a tendency to turn too soon. And I have found that if I turn my head a fraction of a second too soon while putting—and I do mean a fraction of a second—I can try to burn a hole in my ball with my eyes as I follow it, and it still is not going to go in the hole. So my putting practice now involves training my eyes to see the ground where the ball was before allowing my head to turn. I miss the first two to three feet of the ball rolling forward, but it actually rolls in the direction I want it to roll. Turns out, it doesn’t need my eyes to follow it every foot of the way to steer it into the hole. Who knew?
Not so with following Christ. We very much need to keep our eyes on Him every step of the way in order to walk with Him. Seems our eyes play a big part in that walk.
The word eye or eyes is used over 550 times in scripture. Eyes are often used in symbolic ways: they can represent clairvoyance, omniscience, or a gateway to our soul. In other words, what we are looking at influences pretty much everything about us: where we get our knowledge, how we interpret life’s events and circumstances, what we value, our level of compassion, or our willingness to love others. The apostles understood how important the eyes are. John wrote in 1 John 3:
Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
And Paul wrote this to the Ephesians:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
It is my hope today that you will take the time to fix your eyes on Christ and enjoy the benefits of doing so. Like the old hymn says:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of this world will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
—
Bob Kuecker
May 28, 2019
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.