Last Friday, October 20, was not a “Good Friday” for my Church of God pastor friend Richie Nobles, who headed out for a routine golf game at Steelwood Country Club. The other members of the group were me, Dr. Rowe Crowder from Mississippi, and long-time member Tommy Davies from Pensacola. Pastor Richie might be the best player in the club with his Scratch or Plus handicap, having won the last two March Madness Mulligan Match Play events.
As you might expect, the reverend catches a fair number of jokes about practicing more than preaching and working on his game more than working on his sermons. He doesn’t disagree— with a smile.
But this Friday was an ‘off-day’ for Rev. Richie. He shot forty-something on the front nine and was ready to quit. He was mumbling about needing to be at church for something. His plan to quit after nine was thwarted by a prophetic comment from Tommy- “You can’t quit. With your game, you might make two eagles on the back nine and take all the money”.
The only person having a worse day than the pastor was me. In fact, I was sickly and since my house sits next to the 15th green, it was a perfect place for me to just plain quit. I went home to sleep on the couch for two comatose hours. Richie wanted to quit too but he was walking (and carrying his bag) so he had to keep slogging his way to the clubhouse.
When I awoke from my nap, my phone was blowing up with texts and phone calls— all from Richie. There was a video shot on the 16th hole, a par four that can be reachable if you’re crazy enough to hope to hit a ‘perfect’ 270-yard shot, avoiding the water hazard, bunkers, trees, and alligator living in the swamp below the green.
Since Richie’s hopes for a good round had been dashed along the way, this was the perfect day to ‘go for it’. The name of the hole is RISK, simply because a long hitter can risk disaster to go for the green.
Richie’s “bad Friday” vanished into a wonderful “Good Friday” when he hit his driver high and straight, landed on the green, rolled past the pin, caught the slope just perfectly, and sure enough, the ball disappeared. Hallelujah!!!
You will notice from the video that Jesus got all the credit from an otherwise mild-mannered preacher from Bay Minette, Alabama. The Bad Friday was now a Good Friday.
When I woke up to this ‘good news’, I immediately texted Richie that this would be a huge test for his humility. Would he be able to NOT tell his Sunday congregation about his once-in-a-lifetime hole-in-one? Would he remain humble? I even sent him a scripture: “Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth- a stranger, not your own lips.” Proverbs 27:2.
But it was too late. Richie had told the world! The entire club knew that an ace on the 16th was possible. The church bells were ringing the Good News—- Pastor Richie aced the drivable par four!
So what’s the point of this fun story? Well, perhaps you are wondering if you are really a Christian? Not everyone is sure.
I can tell you one obvious sign- have you told anyone your Good News?
The word “Gospel” simply means Good News. It is good news that Jesus Christ came as God in the flesh and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, and now, by trusting in Him, we receive life eternal. WOW! Eternal disaster to a heavenly home- all in an instant by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us. A very bad Friday for Jesus on the cross made it possible for all of mankind to have a Good Friday.
How can we keep quiet about such good news??? Indeed, the apostle Paul says that salvation has two ingredients: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 EST).
This profound statement gives a clue on how a person can KNOW that salvation has come. Believe? Yes. But also “confess with your mouth”. Screaming good news is natural. It is virtually automatic that this “good news” will be shouted to someone.
Many people are what I call “Miranda Christians”. You know the mantra of every cop when a person is arrested, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”
Many so-called Christians are staying silent, and certainly “have the right to remain silent”. But how can you stay silent about such good news? Just like Richie- we should be shouting “Oh my Jesus!”
What would stop you from telling the world that you made a hole-in-one on a par four? Your grandchildren would be hearing the story for decades.
But even better “Good News” is this- Jesus made a bad Friday a really Good Friday for all of us who believe.
Has this Good News sunk into your soul yet?? If so, tell somebody. Today!