Under 100

For most sports the competitors want as high a score as possible. But today I was playing golf, where the lower the score, the better.

Although I have been playing golf since I was a teenager, I have never played often and regularly enough to play well. Every now and again I play a good shot, with most of my shots being mediocre, and some terrible!

Today I was playing round the Niddry Castle course in Winchburgh, with a friend, and one of his friends. I surprised myself by playing quite well (by my standards anyway!), completing the first nine holes in 45, and the next nine in 53.

It is a long time since I managed to complete a whole round in under 100. It was a satisfying feeling. Although I am nowhere near golfers like Colin Mongomerie and Paul Lawrie who can shoot rounds under 70, never mind under 100!

It strikes me that golf is like Christianity. We can gain satisfaction by doing better than we used to do, even although we are nowhere near the best possible performance. God is pleased with us when we do well by our standards, without requiring us to achieve that best possible score. Indeed, we don't even need to be better than anyone else at all. God loves you just the way you are.

Of course, God always wants us to do better, and indeed that should be our aim too. In Christianity, just as in golf, there is always room for improvement.

Improve your technique. Train and practice hard, and with dedication. Obtain the best equipment, and work along with the best performers. Excellence is what we strive for, but not what we demand. Fruitfulness is the measure of our success.

Fruit - such as, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.