When I was younger, around the age of 10 or so, I remember playing golf with my grandpa. I would tee up the ball and whale away at it with my mightiest swing. Usually I sprayed the ball all over the place, but since I could only hit it 60 or 70 yards at best, my direction could be off by 20 degrees and the ball would still be in the fairway.I tried going golfing with my cousins a few years ago and found that I was able to hit the ball 150 yards and farther. Unfortunately, my swing was still off by 20 degrees! The ball no longer stayed on the fairway, and usually went into the rough.
This simple illustration pictures an important aspect of my life of faith: My Christian walk is the direct result of what I believe about God and myself. If my faith is off, my walk will be off. If my walk is off, you can be sure it's because my faith is off.
As a new Christian I needed some time to learn how to "hit the ball straight" in my belief system. I could be off 20 degrees in what I believed and still be on the fairway because I was still growing and had a lot to learn. But if I were to persist in a faulty belief system, my daily walk of faith would become less fulfilling and productive. I would grow older, finding myself stumbling through the rough, or out of bounds spiritually if the course I set for my life didn't agree with Scripture.
Tragically, many teenagers are headed for the same fall because their beliefs are not founded on Scripture. As a result, their lives are often bankrupt before they leave high school.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
~2nd Corinthians 5:7
2 comments:
This is definitely something to think about...
Jon- have I ever told you how absolutely fascinating you are? *big grin*! (thank you by the way) I totally agree with what you are saying here about the whole being off thing. I don't know if it's just me imagining things, but it seems like in today’s world where diversity,"tolerance", and do whatever you want are preached all the time people are getting more and more off course... just accepting the modge-podge of things that they WANT to believe, or jumping on to the latest Christian fad-- usually whatever makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I remember back when I was about 13 or 14 I went through a six-month bible instruction course and then a little later on in life I was in a class that studied some of the foundations of what we believe. I think that laid the groundwork for some really deep roots to grow. I'm not saying that I know everything there is to know about Christianity & Jesus now-- because I think there are things I will be growing and learning about Christ and God my entire life-- but I definitely know that I have a solid foundation that so many people in today's world lack.
The golfing example is great… and I really like the correlation of being of course and getting stuck in the rough… because life there IS rough. I just think it is kinda cool though that we don’t have to stay there.
Great thoughts.. thanks for sharing.
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