Study 3 - 2007: February 19th to 25th

Handing in Your Scorecard.
Reading – John Chapter Ch 5:19-29.

“Just as the Father is himself the source of life, in the same way he has made his son to be the source of life. And he has given the son the right to judge, because he is the son of man. Do not be surprised at this; the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice and come out of their graves; those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned.” John Chapter 5:verses 26-29 (Today’s English Version).

Golf is a great game of skill and a test of our character. There are also rules to be observed if the game is to be enjoyed. For example, on each hole, you are required to tee off from within 2 club lengths of the tee markers, not nearer the hole going back in a rectangle shape. To ignore this rule would be to spoil the whole game of golf.

Not only do we have rules to follow; but we are accountable for signing our card along with our marker and returning our card to a rules official for verification. All this gives our great game credibility.
All of us have stretched the rules as far as we can and most likely we all have broken them and not called a penalty on ourself. I know I have. Golf is one of those unique sports where you are at times the sole arbiter of whether you penalise yourself or not.
In a recent tournament I was talked into letting a penalty go unpunished because he was having a really bad day.

When it comes to life with God there is a similarity with the rules and golf.
Our reading today reminds us that we do not possess life in ourself; life is a gift.

God and his son Jesus Christ give life and are the source of this life.

However, each of us has a limited life span that will one day end in death. There is nothing we can do to avoid this. One day we will all stand before Jesus Christ, the Son of God who has won the victory over death and offers a new life that is eternal. However like golf, with God there are rules with life. We are all guilty of breaking the rules of life with God, which is why we are all slowly dying. (See the 10 commandments, Exodus Chapter 20 in your bibles). We have no life within ourselves. We have been disqualified.

What Jesus offers through his death and rising again is a second chance at life, the second chance being eternal life. We will all one day have to hand in our scorecard to God at the end of our life. However the one marked trusting in Jesus Christ and his efforts on it, will pass the rules official (who is Jesus); while the one marked with our own efforts will be disqualified because the one who has the authority to give life has been ignored.

We may find this hard to believe or incredible, but with God the way to life is different to the way we think. Our pride, self-sufficiency and belief in our own goodness blind us to seeing the love mercy and undeserved kindness that come from Jesus Christ. In golf you have to earn your victory and there is only one winner at the end of the tournament. With Jesus and the life God gives; we can all be winners because he won the victory for all who come to him.

Prayer
Thank you Lord God that you have given us life in the beginning and now have given us another chance through Jesus for a second life. Help us to let go of the control of our lives to you, knowing that you love us and have our best interest at heart. Amen.