Is There Golf in Heaven?

“Consider this, believer: You have no right to heaven in yourself; your right lies in Christ.” – C.H. Spurgeon

It is no secret that I love to play golf. However, as a full-time missionary with limited income, the vast majority of the rounds I play are on inexpensive public courses. Unless it’s a special occasion, I won’t pay more than $30 for a round and I love it during the summer months when – if you’re willing to deal with the Florida heat and humidity – you can play for as little as $15 with a cart.

Every once in a while, however, I get to play on a privately-owned course where the initiation fee to join may be $10,000 (and up) and the annual dues run almost as high. As a nonmember, my usual ticket to play is an invitation from a friend who belongs, or because a charity tournament is being held there. That’s how I got to play Red Stick last spring, the most exclusive golf club in Vero Beach. I’ve also been fortunate to play at Bent Pine once, Orchid Island once, and the Vero Beach Country Club twice.

For the most part however, it’s Sandridge, Fairwinds, or Meadowood for me… or Island Pines or Vista Royale if money is especially tight. None of those courses, especially the latter two, would ever pass for Augusta National where the Masters is played each April. However, I did drive by there once and got to peer down Magnolia Lane. What a thrill!

Getting through the gates of a private golf club without a membership or a personal invitation is impossible. So, my friend, is getting into heaven on your own merits. “There is none righteous, no not one,” Romans 3:10 declares. And our righteous deeds, Isaiah 64:6 reminds us, are nothing but “filthy rags” in God’s sight.

The key to heaven’s door is Jesus. He alone can grant us access through His atoning death on the cross. All we need to do is repent and believe… and we’re in!

Here is how Charles Spurgeon, the “Prince of Preachers,” put it…

“If you are pardoned, it is through His blood; if you are justified, it is through His righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because He is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in Him.”

Now, I wonder if there is golf in heaven. And if so, will I finally be able to shoot under par?

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved.” John 10:9a (NKJV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President