Devotional from Pastor Dave April 17, 2024

The Masters golf tournament was held this past weekend in Augusta, Georgia. The Masters is one of the men’s tour’s four annual major tournaments. It’s held every year at the august Augusta National Golf Club, which is sometimes referred to as the cathedral of golf. I certainly consider it a “holey” site.

Tracy and I enjoyed the opportunity several years ago to attend one of the practice rounds. The beauty of the course is absolutely breathtaking. Every blade of grass is perfectly coiffed. The azaleas seem to bloom on cue. Even the pine straw under the trees is evenly spread.

The winner of this year’s tournament was Scottie Scheffler. It was a commanding victory. He won by four strokes. This is his second green jacket (which the winners receive); the first was two years ago. His wife Meredith is expecting their first child in a matter of weeks. Scottie had said that if he had gotten the call that the baby was coming, he’d have left the tournament, even if he were in the lead. Luckily for him, it didn’t come to that.

Scottie is a Christ-follower who talks about his faith fairly openly. So I was particularly impressed with his press conference after the tournament. He described how he was talking with some of his buddies the morning of the final round about how badly he wanted to win. His buddies reminded him that no matter what happened, “my victory

was secure on the cross. And that’s a pretty special feeling to know that I’m secure forever and it doesn’t matter if I win this tournament or lose this tournament. My identity is secure forever.”

That is a pretty special feeling to know that, isn’t it? To know that our identity is secure, forever, through the cross, through our faith in Christ. He promises the ultimate, eternal victory. No matter the ups and downs, the wins and losses in our own lives, Christ is the core of who we are. That’s what our baptism affirms is true of us. That is what our confirmation confirms is true of us. That is something we can remember and celebrate every day of our lives. As the Apostle Paul put it, you are a child of God, “and if a child then also an heir of God through Christ” (Galatians 4:7). Our identity is secure in Christ forever.

We have the Master’s word on it.