“They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4, ESV)
The starter and a rainbow met Alexander McDonald and me on the first tee at 7:16 a.m. at Royal Dornoch. It was 55 degrees F, perfect for an early morning walk. The sun was coming up out of the North Sea on our right, creating shadows on the first green that extended across the whole putting surface. We were in no hurry. We just walked. Except for one birdie, we did not keep score. We were back in the clubhouse at 9:55. The walk was better than the golf shots.
Some would argue that there should be no golf without the walk. Scottish author Andrew Greig says in his book Preferred Lies, which I recommend, “Golf is a walking game. The walk between shots is not an interlude, non-golf. If it were, most of a round of golf would be non-golf and a great waste of time.” Like all Scots, he thinks buggies (powered carts) are a major problem.
For golfers, “the journey” is perhaps the best metaphor for the Christian experience. We hear a voice that says “Come, follow me.” And off we go.
Great literature has followed this idea that life is a journey: The Odyssey (Homer), The Wizard of Oz (Baum), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien), Gulliver’s Travels (Swift), Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan).
The idea of walking with God is all over the Bible. God himself walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Enoch, Noah, and Abraham walked with God (Genesis 5:22−24; 6:9; 17:1). Psalm 1 warns not to walk in the counsel of the wicked. Isaiah heard a voice that said, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Micah told us to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).
Jesus showed up on a walk to Emmaus (Luke 24). And when Philip asked Jesus, “How can we know the way?” Jesus made it plain: “I am the way” (John 14:5-6).
Paul exhorted believers to walk in love, walk in the Spirit, walk in the light, walk worthy, walk carefully (Romans 13:13; 14:15; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 4:1, 17; 5:2, 15; Colossians 1:10; 2:6).
Modern versions of the Bible have often eliminated the walking metaphor. The scholars who translate the Bible have tried to help us by turning walk into live. I have no right to criticize Biblical scholars since I can barely speak English, but these translators probably ride buggies. For me, I still like the idea of walking with God. Walking with God is a lot less pressure than living for God.
Playing with a golf cart, as we Americans do, may be a good picture of how many of us live—hurrying from one church or social event to the next, thinking the only thing that matters is “the shot.” We have missed the quiet and peaceful walk with Jesus. He listens to us. We walk and talk. On my smartest days, I just listen to him.
And I must say, it is also good to walk with another human being who knows you well enough to speak truth. Most people need a confessor, a teacher, a confidante, a mentor, a fellow pilgrim. For many it is your spouse.
Naturally, we hope to stay on the right path on this journey. But wandering off the path is always part of the story. Dante captures it in the opening lines of The Divine Comedy: “Midway along the journey … I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off the straight path…” (Dante may have been an 18-handicap slicer).
Indeed, note that Jesus never said, “I am the Fairway.” If you follow him, there will be some rough, some bunkers, and worse. Even a cross. Walking with God will not be easy. But it is truly the only way to live.