Miniature Golf Anyone? by Robin Densmore Fuson

 

 

 

Do you like to take chances? Have you made your choice? Are you ready for a hole in one? 

My first shot went in the track. The second one, sailed wild. My daughter and I were attending a ladies retreat at Swan Lake in Florida. The camp staff had installed a miniature golf course in the rough. In Colorado, we called it mountain golf. By design, the putt-putt course is not in pristine shape. Small valleys are filled with water. Pine needles, sticks, and leaves are the hazards.

The course led you on a trip through “Bible lands” with appropriate names for the different holes. Some were called, Garden of Eden, Red Sea, and Jordan. A few had water hazards to cross. My daughter and I competed against each other and laughed all through the game especially when our brightly colored balls veered off course. Occasionally, we had to dig our ball out of slimy water when we did make it into the targeted cup. Eeuw.

The last hole was an interesting one. Its name was The Way, I would’ve named it, Narrow is the Path. In the above picture, you can see the “paths” that led to Heaven. I thought I’d go straight in and my first shot did great. On my second shot, it hit a pebble and zoomed to the Rocks of Perdition. My ball got stuck back behind large rocks that blocked my ball from hitting the target. After about seven strokes, my ball finally splashed into the waterlogged cup, labeled Heaven.

If I was a better golfer and there were no pebbles, sticks, or leaves, my ball would’ve easily landed in the hole on the first stroke. This reminded me of the real Heaven. Getting to Heaven is easy. All we need to do is trust Jesus Christ for what He did for us on the cross. He took the blame for our sin. He did all the work.

Sin needs to be paid. Jesus paid it all, so we don’t have to.

There is one way to Heaven. All the other roads lead to perdition or in a better term, hell. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we trust Him for what He did for us, we get to sail right on to Heaven when we die. We don’t need to worry. There are no obstacles.

One plan. One way. Our choice.

Do it the way God planned or do it our way and end up in the “rocks of perdition.”

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? Have you accepted what He did for you? Or are you trying to do it your way? If you’re trying to get to Heaven on your terms, you will end up missing or falling short, and going to Hell.

In the real game of life, there are no do-overs. You get until you die to accept Jesus as your Savior and start a relationship with Him.

  “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it” (Matthew 7:13-14nlt).

Dear Lord, I pray that everyone reading this has trusted Jesus as the One to pay for their sin and accepted Him as Savior. Father, if anyone hasn’t, I pray that right now they will call out to You and ask You into their life. Thank You Jesus for what You did for all who trust in You. In Jesus’ name Amen.