Walking the Course

“They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4, ESV)

golfing rainbow.jpeg

The starter and a rainbow met Alexander McDonald and me on the first tee at 7:16 a.m. at Royal Dornoch. It was 55 degrees F, perfect for an early morning walk. The sun was coming up out of the North Sea on our right, creating shadows on the first green that extended across the whole putting surface. We were in no hurry. We just walked. Except for one birdie, we did not keep score. We were back in the clubhouse at 9:55. The walk was better than the golf shots.

Some would argue that there should be no golf without the walk. Scottish author Andrew Greig says in his book Preferred Lies, which I recommend, “Golf is a walking game. The walk between shots is not an interlude, non-golf. If it were, most of a round of golf would be non-golf and a great waste of time.” Like all Scots, he thinks buggies (powered carts) are a major problem.

For golfers, “the journey” is perhaps the best metaphor for the Christian experience. We hear a voice that says “Come, follow me.” And off we go.

Great literature has followed this idea that life is a journey: The Odyssey (Homer), The Wizard of Oz (Baum), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien), Gulliver’s Travels (Swift), Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan).

The idea of walking with God is all over the Bible. God himself walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Enoch, Noah, and Abraham walked with God (Genesis 5:22−24; 6:9; 17:1). Psalm 1 warns not to walk in the counsel of the wicked. Isaiah heard a voice that said, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Micah told us to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Jesus showed up on a walk to Emmaus (Luke 24). And when Philip asked Jesus, “How can we know the way?” Jesus made it plain: “I am the way” (John 14:5-6).

Paul exhorted believers to walk in love, walk in the Spirit, walk in the light, walk worthy, walk carefully (Romans 13:13; 14:15; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 4:1, 17; 5:2, 15; Colossians 1:10; 2:6).

Modern versions of the Bible have often eliminated the walking metaphor. The scholars who translate the Bible have tried to help us by turning walk into live. I have no right to criticize Biblical scholars since I can barely speak English, but these translators probably ride buggies. For me, I still like the idea of walking with God. Walking with God is a lot less pressure than living for God.

Playing with a golf cart, as we Americans do, may be a good picture of how many of us live—hurrying from one church or social event to the next, thinking the only thing that matters is “the shot.” We have missed the quiet and peaceful walk with Jesus. He listens to us. We walk and talk. On my smartest days, I just listen to him.

And I must say, it is also good to walk with another human being who knows you well enough to speak truth. Most people need a confessor, a teacher, a confidante, a mentor, a fellow pilgrim. For many it is your spouse.

Naturally, we hope to stay on the right path on this journey. But wandering off the path is always part of the story. Dante captures it in the opening lines of The Divine Comedy: “Midway along the journey … I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off the straight path…” (Dante may have been an 18-handicap  slicer).

Indeed, note that Jesus never said, “I am the Fairway.” If you follow him, there will be some rough, some bunkers, and worse. Even a cross. Walking with God will not be easy. But it is truly the only way to live.

THIS WORLD ISN'T FAIR

“Everything he does is just and fair.” (Deuteronomy 32:4, NLT)

Wednesday, August 5, 2020. 6 a.m. We awoke to an unusually glorious view over the Links of Brora. The sun was shining. The flags were limp. The North Sea was calm. The birds were chirping. The sea otters were at play. Another day in Scotland’s Paradise.

As my first cup of coffee was brewing, I checked my emails for the Links Players’ devotional. Instead, a Jeff Hopper email simply said, “Sorry to hear that Cullan passed.”

Cullan Brown

In the snap of a finger, Paradise was gone.

Cullan Brown, age 20, had died. Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, had taken the life of a rising star on the Kentucky golf team. All-SEC Freshman. Made the cut last summer in a PGA Tour event. Shot a 29 on the back nine the first time I ever watched him play. Not to mention a gourmet chef, expert outdoorsman, and 4.0 student. And best of all, he was a Jesus lover. Shortly after he arrived on UK’s campus, he wanted to meet with me for an hour. I soon realized his main purpose was to let me know he and I were on the same page when it came to Jesus.

But now he was gone.

The first news article I could find quoted a former Kentucky player, Chip McDaniel, who tweeted, “This world just isn’t fair.” Amen, Chip.

Thousands of people had prayed. Jack Nicklaus and Bernhard Langer had sent hopeful messages to Cullan. But none of that seemed to matter.

Chip’s tweet sent me to the Bible, looking for the word fair. I could not find the word as we define it 2020. In the King James Version (1611), the NASB (1902) or the RSV (1952), the word fair only meant the color of your skin, or the beauty of a young lady, or maybe the weather.

Only modern Bible versions use the word fair. Such as: “Everything he does is just and fair.” (Deuteronomy 32:4, NLT). Or: “If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?” (Romans 3:6, NLT).

The older translations simply say God is Just. God is Righteous. God is Upright. God is Awesome. I suspect that modern translators may have fallen prey to the presumption that God needs to be “fair,” as we understand it.

This Awesome God knew his purpose for Cullan Brown. It was not the PGA Tour.

Instead, the plan of this Righteous God was to plant Cullan, a small mustard seed from Eddyville, Kentucky (population 2,554), in the hearts of thousands.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.... the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31, NRSV)

When Cullan was told he had cancer, he never complained that this world isn’t fair, even though it isn’t. That’s because he knew that God is Just, Righteous, Upright, Awesome!

I imagine the scene on August 4, 2020. Jesus embraced Cullan in his new body and said, “I love you so much.” Cullan nodded approval and smiled as Jesus continued, “Your journey on earth seemed short, but my purpose was for you to lay down your life to save others. I just knew you’d be OK with that.” Cullan smiled again and nodded, “Of course, of course.”

I can actually hear Cullan then responding in his unique Kentucky twang, “Jesus, thank you so much. Now though, please just make sure everybody who knows my story knows that you love them, and if they trust in your love, the plan always works out.” Now Jesus smiled. “Of course.”

Perhaps this conversation even happened walking down a fairway. Since Jesus is too smart to play golf, he would be Cullan’s caddie. Jesus loves to caddie for his children.

So, the world is not fair. But God is Just, Right, Upright and Awesome. RIP Cullan.

SLUMDOG GOLFER: A Day at Kodaikanal Golf Club

Most days on the golf course are eventually forgotten (thanks be to God), but not a day at Kodaikanal. The course was built originally in 1898. They have pictures from the 1920’s on the wall in the clubhouse and you can feel the ghosts of British colonialism everywhere.

A family of monkeys on the first tee tells you part of this story. A fence around the first green to keep off the wild boars says more. The scorecard told me that we get free drops from “fresh excreta”. This was supposed to make me feel better but did not. Whose “fresh excreta” was not clear to me.

The only way to really describe it is to take you through my day at Kodai, short for Kodaikanal, a resort city in the mountains. I use the word ‘resort’ with reservation.

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BIG BERTHA: Dead at age Thirty (30)

Great Big Bertha walked slowly and somberly to the outdoor podium. She looked out over the largest gathering of golf clubs in history. Over one hundred clubs were dressed in their finest grips and covers. Many eyes were filled with tears.

“Thank you all for coming today. It is a sad day for all of us who knew my mother and your friend, Bertha. She was the grand ol’ lady of golf, loved and respected by everyone. She was an original.” Everyone nodded agreement.

“You called her BIG BERTHA. I called her Mom.” Emotion overcame the only daughter of Big Bertha. She reached for a small golf towel with a Pine Valley logo to wipe her tears.  

“She carried herself with dignity and class, never complaining when she was thrown or cursed. She brought sheer joy into the lives of so many, especially giving Mr. Wedge a lot of opportunities to shine,” she said with a smile. “Thank you for coming. Big Bertha’s death has already brought life by your appearance here today. Thank you!”

She took her seat next to the rest of Big Bertha’s family, including grandchildren Biggest Big Bertha and Big Bertha 454, plus the Callaway youngsters Rogue and Epic Flash, all sitting together on the front row.

The eulogy of Big Bertha’s eldest daughter brought joy filled tears. Almost all the greats had come for her funeral at the famous Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey, USA. Three other greats of the game offered eulogies to the exclusive crowd gathered on the green lawn near the 1st Tee.

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