And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:9, NIV)
By now, you should have a good understanding that God pretty much did what he wanted when it came to establishing the world. He spoke things into existence and they were.
On what Genesis 1 calls the third day, God established the difference between water and dry land, with the seas set in place, then added the production of vegetation, with seeds set in soil and water giving them life. Your local farmer and golf course superintendent share a common understanding of this day’s significance. The world is a beautiful place when it is lush and fruitful.
Of course, golf can’t be all green—not if it’s going to present reasonable interest. In fact, it’s the bunker’s sand, the tree’s hardwood, and the water’s finality that allow us to laugh at the golfer who says he needs a wager to “make things interesting.” Any architect with an ounce of creativity has already beat the gambler to that punch.
Then there is the rough. Even a course’s grand finery—its turf—can become a player’s nightmare when it is allowed to grow to a tangly gnarl.
Sometimes our only solace is to see all the way back to Genesis, when it was so clear that God did everything by design.Golf presents the challenge we love because good and bad exist so close to one another. Today’s bounce a foot to the right allows the ball to curl toward the hole and set you up for birdie. But hit that same shot tomorrow, when it caroms a foot to the left, and you’ll find yourself staring up the face of a deep bunker with the green running away from the flag.
For all the laments of God’s psalmists and prophets that he has allowed the wicked to live among us, God has made no change. School kids live with bullies, CEOs of utter integrity face corporate raiders, and the drunk driver and the thief do their harmful damage to the innocent.
What might be God’s purpose in staying his hand like this? Does he really not care that troubling people make troublesome days for us all? Sometimes our only solace is to see all the way back to Genesis, when it was so clear that God did everything by design. It’s no different now. He enacts his intentions and he has placed us among them. From there we grow, like fruitful vegetation stretching above the weeds.
—
Jeff Hopper
April 16, 2021
Copyright 2021 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Fast Forward 1: The Creator
Fast Forward 2: Light and Darkness
Fast Forward 3: Clouds in the Air
Fast Forward 5: Skylights
Fast Forward 6: Wild Kingdom
Fast Forward 7: Man Alive!
Fast Forward 8: The World We Live In