The afternoon sun cooked down on me as I made a cautious left turn onto the cart path. Holes two and nine were my destination. I gradually accelerated in order to make it up the steep hill along hole sixteen’s inclined fairway. The soft breeze patted my sweat dry. I peaked over top the stonewall as I took my foot off the gas to make sure nobody was teeing off. When I saw the empty tee box resting in the shade, I accelerated once again and repositioned myself to glance over to the left. Here was my chance to examine the quality of my early morning work.

Somedays, it looked as if someone had taken two paint rollers, one with light green and one with dark green and gently pressed them against the grass to form perfectly straight, alternating lines on the green complex. Other days, the freshly watered greens glistened in the summer sunshine and the line contrast was not apparent to the naked eye. Still, there were days when the lines looked more like slithering snakes, curving every which way. Those were the days I drove by with a scowl on my face vowing to do better the next morning.

This was my routine every afternoon the few summers I spent working on a golf course.

The art of rolling a perfectly straight line into the Bermuda grass each morning was only a few simple steps. Find an object across the green that was in the direction to be cut. It could be a tree, a rock; anything, as long as it didn’t move. Engage the mower and begin walking towards that object without even the slightest flinch of an eye. Once you reach the end of the green, disengage, turn around and admire your masterpiece. The green was set up perfectly for the back and forth makeover it was about to undergo.

Golf greens are designed to slope and undulate. This makes putting a challenging yet rewarding process when a green is “read” correctly. These slopes and inclines tend to play tricks on you when looking down at the green, as is the common practice for a novice. Mowers begin to drift down these land features, tempting the greenskeeper to tug at the mower a bit to stay the course. This tugging and shifting gives the operator a feeling of control but leaves a slithering snake of a line behind him.

It’s exciting for me to recall these memories in the dead of winter when the mercury struggles to hover above freezing. Sure, it reminds me that warmer, golf-friendly days are ahead, but it also puts life into perspective for me.

I started to learn a deeper lesson from this whole green cutting process one day when I had taken my eyes off my point of reference and mowed a wavy line into the green. We’re taught to have goals, to be focused, and purposeful in our steps. To pick something and walk towards it. But what if we’re walking towards the wrong thing? What if we’re focused and driven, but just in the wrong direction?

It’s a big question to ask and one that isn’t very comforting to consider. It’s inconvenient to think this way. It’s much easier to keep our nose to the grind stone and keep on going in whatever direction we were headed.

Much like looking at the ground when cutting a green instead of the destination, we make a tragic mistake by doing so, however. We look down for direction and purpose, not up. When we do catch a glimpse of who we were made for, then we begin to walk towards the destination we all desire.

The apostle Paul was a man who walked perhaps the straightest line of any human being. He lived as consistent a life as this world has ever seen. The only thing was, he was headed in the complete wrong direction. All until Paul encountered Jesus Christ while travelling to kill some people who followed Jesus. That day, Paul’s point of reference changed from himself to his Creator.

Paul’s whole life did a 180. He became one of the people he had previously sought to eradicate from the earth. He started to walk towards eternity with the one who he used to hate.

His story touched quite a few people’s lives as they listened when he talked about Jesus. How Jesus’ perfect life was the straight line none of them could walk. Yet He was crucified for the crooked lives they did lead. This wasn’t just a religious figure and He certainly wasn’t a hoax. Jesus was the destination they all had been seeking. Paul’s life change was proof.

Soon Jesus himself became their point of reference. They no longer just existed but lived for the life to come. The life that was guaranteed to them through Jesus. Eternal life with their Creator who loved them.

They were taught to “fix their eyes on Jesus” and “hope in what is unseen” meaning the life promised, but not yet realized. Taught to “seek first the Kingdom of God” and “keep focusing on the things above” where Jesus dwells. Gone were the days wondering the how, what and where questions of life. They now realized that Jesus was the answer to all three.

Those hot summer days at the golf course stick out to me now almost as much as the vibrant green Bermuda I’d study each afternoon. It’s here that I really began to learn what fixing my eyes on Jesus looks like.

In the changing landscape of life, I’ve learned there is simply nothing else that remains the same but Jesus. Nothing worth walking towards, but eternal life with Him. Nothing stable enough to build a life on, but His promises.

So, as I would stop and stare at the greens I cut, it is my continual prayer that I will stop and stare at my Savior Jesus all day, every day. For he alone can make my paths straight.

 

Scriptures referenced:

Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

2 Corinthians 4:18 – “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Hebrews 12:1b-2 – “…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

The book of Acts – Paul’s life story.