Titus 1:15

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.

We have a high school golfer in our family who decided to get serious with her game a couple of years ago. Some of my favorite times playing the game is spent with her on the course. She doesn’t play with my normal Saturday group of older men who tells lies and offer excuses for every bad swing. (Of course, I do not participate in these discussions of discord.) Last year, her game began to improve in quick fashion. Prior to this, she would be be impressed with any drive she hit over 150 yards or any putt from three feet she made. She never experienced the heartbreak and heartache from the game of golf. Now she looks back on those days and admits how relatively bad she was when she started. When we recall our life before we put faith in Jesus Christ, we can see exactly how defiled and lost we really were before our transformation. It’s amazing what posting a couple tournament 95’s will do for the soul of the golfer. Failure on the course and life is akin to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We come to a point in our lives, just as we do in golf, of a realization that we are helpless and defiled living within our own power and strength. The non-believer is incapable of pure living or thought. The Jews referred to in the quoted scripture refer to the Jews who mixed the ceremonies of the law with the institutions of Christ. The works and offerings of the unbeliever are all defiled. The pure soul realizes the grace and mercy originating from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through Him all things are made pure. The game of golf is just like life in general. We will take a flurry of punches to the gut from time to time. The believer considers all these circumstances and situations as “teaching moments”. Similarly, the seasoned golfer realizes one day it is best to get out of the trees when you hit it in the trees. Jesus teaches us the same for when we get into trouble in our lives. When we find ourselves in a sinful or a backslidden condition, the first play is to get out of sin! You can see much clearer and the view is more pure when it’s unobstructed. Experience teaches this lesson to the golfer, but only faith in Jesus Christ accomplishes this miracle for the lost soul. Many mistakenly believe they have to purify themselves prior to accepting Jesus and thereby delay accepting Christ. Let our witness reflect that the eternal regenerating purity of the soul only results FROM true repentance and faith in Christ.