I love golf.

Hang on. Let me back up.

I love the idea of golf.

Yeah, that’s better.

I used to play a fair amount of golf, back in the day.

Actually—hold up—let me modify that statement:

I used to play golf when my golf-loving Dad would invite me to play with him.

Yeah, that’s definitely more accurate.

Some of the things I can appreciate about golf are:

• It’s never the same game twice; you’ll literally never take the exact same stance or swing the same way twice.
• It demands focus. And I mean FOCUS to do it well consistently.
• It’s as much mental as it is physical. (I hear some of you jeering that it isn’t really that physical, and that’s okay.)
• It interacts with nature, which as we all know can be brutally unpredictable. Winds, grass length, tree branches, water, and light all play their part in making up every swing of the club.
• There’s an etiquette embedded in the game. Did you know men must wear a collared shirt when they play? The three key words to acceptable golf fashion are “neat, clean, and comfortable.”
• It’s a game that encourages teamwork, but ultimately, the outcome is up to me.

There are more reasons, but you get it. I want to share something I learned about golf years ago, and how I define success in golf whenever I play (I don’t play much anymore, but would love it if invited. Hint Hint).

One day I was out golfing with my Dad, and since he is a much, MUCH better golfer than I, he took every single shot to heart; as if every shot he took was determining whether he’d wear that famous green jacket or not. If I recall correctly, we were, that day, on an unremarkable golf course in Winchester, VA, where I was living at the time. He was visiting and, of course, brought his clubs so we could spend the day on the links.

As time went on, I could see his frustration rising. You see, golfers have this thing that happens where one bad shot can very easily give birth to another bad shot. String a few bad shots together, and you’re suddenly someone who has no right holding a club. Take it to its logical conclusion and you’ll see why some golfers resort to wrapping their club around the nearest tree trunk. But no one can argue with their passion, I’ll say that.

So as I recall, I stopped my Dad mid-tirade and made a suggestion. “Dad, how about we redefine what a good shot is?” We instantly both agreed that our new definition of success for any shot we took would be “Closer to the pin.” (For those of you who aren’t golfers, the “pin” is the flag that sticks up and out of the “cup”. And the “cup” is the technical name for the hole you’re trying to ultimately get the ball into.)

So there we were, on some random fairway on some random golf course on some random day in Northern Virginia, with a new vision of what good golfing looks like, right in the middle of our game. The cloud hanging over us broke up, the wind was suddenly sweeter, and the overall mood turned weightless. It was a decision we made together that instantly changed the game.

Christians, let’s be honest. Many of us need to let go of some of the rigidity of religion that has caused us to view it as a score-keeping regimen rather than a fiery relationship born out of and rooted in grace. In other words, we ought to tear up the scorecard we’ve been clutching.

Each day, ask one simple question: Am I closer to Jesus today than I was yesterday?

That’s it. And use your honest answer to that one question to calibrate your heart, decide your trajectory, and fuel your passion for Him and Him alone.