So, you know I’ve taken up the habit of watching golf. The real reason was because they whisper and generally, it’s a calm sport and I thought it would make good napping. But, I’ve come to really enjoy the sport. I don’t golf, but I like watching it and learning about it. There are some things that confound me about the sport, like why they don’t just aim for the hole and whack the ball instead of pulling out their books and getting all technical with trajectory (I don’t even know what that word means) and ball speed (how hard you whack it), and curve (hitting it the wrong way). If I played golf, which I don’t, I think it would take all the fun out of it to have to be so precise. Tony says it’s not for fun it’s for money. I guess that makes it a little more serious for some folks.
I have learned that part of the point of golf is to get the ball into the hole in as little hits as possible. They call it a stroke, which does sound more gentile and professional than a hit but let’s be honest, they’re hitting a tiny ball that’s 1.70ish inches in diameter with a piece of metal to make it go into a hole, or cup, that’s 4 ¼” big. By the way, each of those metal sticks or clubs (more gentile) also has a different name, I just don’t know what they are, or what difference it makes.
I’ve also learned that each hole has a recommended number of hits/strokes. I guess some expert designed the holes and scored them so you’d know how you were doing. For instance, a certain hole might be a Par 3 – that means that you really should hit the ball into the hole in three whacks or less. In golf, less is always better I’m told. A Par 4 means you smack it in the hole in four or less whacks. See the pattern here? I really am learning something during nap time.
Anyway, one thing in particular I recently learned is that a hit is a hit or to use correct terminology a stroke is a stroke. I know that sounds simple to you, but it was utterly profound to me. Why so, you ask? It seems that no matter how far you hit the ball, regardless of the distance, a stroke is a stroke. See what I mean? Whether I hit a ball and it lands one inch from the hole or 25 feet from the hole, it still counts as a stroke. A stroke is a stroke. My mind connected that with sin. No, not that golf is a sin, but just like a stroke is a stroke on the golf course, a sin is a sin on the life course.
For everyone has sinned we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 3:23
Just like in golf, regardless of the span or the degree of the whack, sin is sin. I don’t know about you, but I am a whacker, just like Brother Paul, remember?
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.d I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
Romans 6:15-20
I do things I don’t want to do and I don’t do things I should do. I’m a sinner. My sins are just that sins. Not white sins, little sins, medium sins, big sins or ginormous sins. They are sins. Plain and simple. What is sin? It is disobedience to God. There’s either disobedience or obedience. We don’t obey a little or obey a lot, God is not a God of the little bits or the whole bunches, He’s a God of truth. We either obey or we don’t. Of course, the consequences of our sins have degrees. The basis of our laws are Biblical principles. Look it up.
Are we willing to call sin “sin” not because it is big or little, but because God’s law forbids it? We cannot categorize sin if we are to live a life of holiness. God will not let us get away with that kind of attitude.
The Pursuit of Holiness, Jerry Bridges
Sin is not about the law, it is about the Lawgiver. Do we obey in only some things or in all things? Do we recognize that all sin is against God? That all sin grieves God? That all sin separates us from God? A stroke is a stroke, regardless of where it lands, inches away or feet away. A miss is a miss. Sin is sin, regardless of our human assigned value. Sin is sin. Only the consequences have varying affects.
I’ve said before that where I go in this blog is where I am in my walk. If you read this blog, you go there with me. I’m working on sin and its separation impact. The only thing that can separate us from God is sin, not one other thing can. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be separated from God.
We must not be separated from God by sin — the 1″ or the 25 footer — not a little bit or a lot. It is critical that we seek Him for every answer. It is critical that we work out our salvation with fear and trembling. It is critical that we understand our responsibility in our salvation. Salvation comes from Christ, but we must train ourselves to be like Christ, no one can do that for you. It’s between you and Jesus. Are we separated from Him on the course of life? Do we need to pull out our book, strategize a little more before we play, and check our strokes?
So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation, because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose.
Philippians 2:12-13