…as far as the East is from the West, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)
Emerging from a hiatus from golf due to minor health issues, I find myself eager yet apprehensive about returning to the course. Reestablishing my rhythm typically demands weeks, if not months, of dedicated practice. Consequently, I often adopt an all-or-nothing mindset towards golf.
Golf, renowned for its time-consuming nature, clashes with my myriad responsibilities and obligations at times. Knowing that a scarcity of time will invariably impact my performance, I fall prey to the belief that if I cannot commit to playing multiple times a week, I should abstain altogether.
The fear of underperforming, coupled with the inability to give my utmost, deters me from enjoying the game. A string of poor rounds only compounds my frustration and disillusionment.
Ironically, I give my students far more leniency when they face similar challenges. Emphasizing enjoyment over achievement, I encourage them to give themselves a grace period wherein scores are immaterial. The only scores they are allowed to record are pars or less. I teach them to focus on finding their swing again and enjoying the game without the burden of expectations.
Observing their progress, I’m reminded that sometimes, the act of keeping score stifles our enjoyment and can be discouraging with high-scoring rounds. But this sentiment extends beyond the golf course and can encompass our spiritual journey as well.
As Christians, we aspire to navigate life with fewer and fewer sins as we grow in sanctification, striving for righteousness while sometimes battling an array of human frailties—be it unkind words, unforgiveness, or pride. You know…the sand traps, water hazards, and out-of-bound markers that often catch us by surprise in life.
Yet, just as in golf, where a high score doesn’t define the player, our spiritual slip-ups need not define us. Scripture exhorts us to pursue holiness, but it also assures us of God’s boundless grace in the process. Even in moments of profound failure, Jesus’ forgiveness knows no bounds.
Consider this: what if your life’s scorecard resembles a string of catastrophic double bogeys and worse? The beauty of our Christian faith lies in its capacity for redemption (remember….we are a resurrected people in Christ). In the eyes of Christ, every confessed sin is expunged, every transgression forgiven. Our slate wiped clean; our past errors rendered inconsequential.
When Jesus died for our sins, he offers us the gift of His salvation through repentance. And when we repent and put our faith in Him, He then pulls out an eraser and erases all our sins. Our scorecards become brand new! And when we have a bad hole, we can run to Him and ask for His forgiveness and help…and He again…pulls out the eraser and cleans up our scorecards!
King David poetically illustrates this truth, likening God’s forgiveness to the vast expanse between East and West. Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul echo this sentiment, proclaiming God’s deliberate forgetfulness of our sins (Jer. 31:34 & Heb. 8:12).
In golf and life, our goal remains constant: to move forward learning how to play and live better, learning from our missteps and poor shots without dwelling on them. Just as a golfer sheds the weight of a poor round to focus on the next, so too must we relinquish the burden of past failures to embrace the promise of renewal that we have in Jesus Christ.
In this journey, as we navigate the fairways of life, may we find solace in the knowledge that our worth is not defined by our scores but by the boundless grace of a loving God who walks with us on every hole of life, with an eraser in His pocket ready to be used if we ask Him. How blessed we are to have a loving and merciful God who does not keep score for those who have put their faith in him.
Prayer: “Jesus, thank you for your forgiveness and for not remembering our sins when we confess them to you. Help us to be the best we can be on and off the course.”