MULLIGANS

037 – SEPTEMBER 2006

MULLIGANS

I think that a good way to wreck a Saturday is to “go golfing”. It is a very funny game indeed. You have a great round and, just when you think that you are ready for the pro tour, you spend the next 9 holes in the woods and wondering why you have returned to the shanks, hooks, slices, and “duffs” that you thought you had conquered. The fact is that most weekend golfers are hoping for one good shot to brag about at the office.
Now, with a motive to score well, weekend golfers add a popular rule called a “Mulligan”. Each golfer gets one for every 9 holes and the Mulligan is proclaimed when a golfer duffs a tee shot or hits the ball into the woods. The rule allows the person to tee up a second ball while ruling the first misguided tee shot as never been swung at. As the person tees up again and you will hear him openly say, “I’ll use my Mulligan on this hole.”
It’s quite silly, actually … if you think about it. You are presenting yourself with a better score than you actually shot - a gift of 2 or 3 less strokes. However, as everyone happily agrees with this rule, it’s seems only fair to apply it.

As I was thinking about Mulligans, I began to reflect on this – Wouldn’t it be great if we could apply this exceptional concept to some familiar mistakes of our daily walk? We could establish one Mulligan for every 2 of our waking hours. It would eliminate such bothersome errors as:
Spilling coffee on your shirt? Just say “I’ll take my Mulligan on this”, look down, see an unstained shirt, and take a 2nd and more dexterous sip.
Lock your keys in the car? “Mulligan!” Try it again. Open the door, sit back down, and get out of the car with your keys in your hand.
Crack your shin on the coffee table? Say, “I need a Mulligan here.” Pain will disappear, you can back up, step forward again, and, this time, avoid the whole achy thing.
Burned the Thanksgiving turkey? Big time “Mulligan!” Time backs up, the turkey is ready to cook again, and, this time, you can be more attentive.

What about sin stuff? There is a more sure method. God has offered a great rule for us … that if we acknowledge our sins and ask Him for forgiveness, He will be sure to forgive us and remove the sin “as far as the East is from the West.”

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and will not remember your sins.”

If you realize that you have told a lie? Ask for God’s forgiveness.
Are you sorrowfully aware of stealing, cheating, cursing, swearing, or looking at things you should not be looking at? Did you give someone a mean look, use a harsh word that you wish you could stuff back in your mouth, or act selfish by demanding your own way? You should be feeling badly about it. Maybe tell any hurt person that you are sorry and ask God to forgive you. Acknowledge your offenses and ask for forgiveness.

1 John 1: 8 & 9 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God is much more gracious than a Mulligan. He actually says that not only will He forgive the error but also will cast it in to the sea of forgetfulness. It will be as though we did not do the deed … as though we never took the bad swing.
Think about it! God is a God of new beginnings and it is so wonderful that we can wake each day and know that, as we stumble, jumble, grumble, and bumble … God’s grace is available at all times.