And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. (Mark 2:14, ESV)
There have been some amazing technological advances in golf in the last decade, and even before that. It was around 1925 when tubular steel shafts were introduced for golf clubs, becoming the standard within 10 years.
Long before that, in the mid-1800s, hickory was first used by a fellow named Robert Forgan in Scotland to make golf shafts. The hickory came from America and had been sent to Scotland to be used as axe handles. Which may explain something about my swing.
But it isn’t club shafts or club heads or golf balls that I’m interested in at the moment; it’s a cart. Not a riding cart, because I still think the game is better played walking rather than riding.
Of course, walking 18 holes is a challenge in itself for many of us, sometimes because we’re getting older and sometimes because new courses have long distances from the green to the next tee. And mostly because, sadly, few courses offer caddies anymore.
Even without a caddie, my home course is quite walkable. I still throw the clubs on my back occasionally and make it all the way around, but it’s getting tougher. A push cart helps, but now there is something better.
It’s almost a caddie, except it won’t read the greens for you.Motorized push carts have been around for a while, but in the past few years they’ve been given lithium batteries (lighter and longer lasting), and they’ve been given some smarts. The one used by two of my friends has something called “follow mode.”
With that engaged, the golfer walks along and the cart dutifully follows where the player goes. It also has other modes, and can be sent to the next tee to wait for you, but follow is the cat’s meow. It’s almost a caddie, except it won’t read the greens for you.
Watching that cart in action made me think of Jesus walking along with his disciples in follow mode. They went where he went, stopped when he stopped, and basically allowed his actions to determine theirs.
Although Jesus isn’t with us in person, we still follow him. We should still do our best to go when he goes, stop when he stops, and allow his guidance to determine our steps.
The one drawback with motorized walking carts, especially one with follow mode, is that they are still fairly pricey. But I have all kinds of justification lined up: my doctor wants me to exercise, I play better when I walk, and the game is more leisurely when I’m on foot.
More importantly, it will remind me that I need to be in follow mode with Jesus.
—
Lewis Greer
August 12, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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