Good morning! The weather is starting to get really nice outside and the summer season is right around the corner. I love the summer: spending time outside, in the pool, and all the outdoor activities that come along with this time of year. One of those summer activities that we enjoy is playing mini golf.
Has anyone else seen the price of mini golf lately?! It’s crazy – most places come out to almost one dollar per hole. Josh is normally a little cheaper, but not by much. Regardless, we enjoy playing so every once in a while we challenge each other to a game, normally followed up by some ice cream. 😁
Whenever we play, there is always a prize for anyone who gets a hole in one and whoever wins the game. We are not super competitive, so we always like to include one mulligan for each player that can be used at any time throughout the eighteen holes.
For anyone who doesn’t know, a mulligan is a free do-over that can be used in the event the first shot is bad and you want to try again. The mulligan does not count the first shot, but instead allows you to reset and make a better shot.
I personally like to use mine on one of two occasions. One – if I know my first shot is so bad that it will cause me to get a high score for that hole, or two – if I have a good shot at making a hole in one so that I can ‘get a prize.’ (It’s really not a prize for me because I end up paying for it LOL – but its still fun!)
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had a mulligan for the ‘game’ of life?! There are so many things that I look back in hindsight and would love to have the opportunity to do them over. I’m not saying that I have many regrets, because everything that I have experienced and persevered through has helped to shape me into the person I am today. But it would be nice to be able to take back certain choices and replace them with others, now that we are more knowledgeable and see how different choices would have been better – but we can’t!
The choices we have made and the benefit or consequence that has come along with them are what they are. But, the good news is that God gives us a mulligan. He cancels out our first attempt to wipe our slate clean and give us an opportunity to do better. Not only that, but He promises to come along side us and help us to do better!
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He makes us a NEW creation! Not a better or enhanced version, but a NEW version! How cool is this?! It really does not matter what the first attempt at life looks like because Jesus did all the work necessary to make us in right standing with God the Father. Not only that, but He sent the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and help us bear fruit that resembles Him!
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Ephesians 4:22-24
We no longer have to live according to the selfish desires of our hearts, but instead through the transformation that takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit, live in alignment with the selfless nature of Jesus!
If you have not made the choice to follow Jesus, consider making this all important decision today! Jesus offers you a NEW life to live and salvation from experiencing God’s wrath towards sin. It really doesn’t matter what you have done, there is a ‘mulligan’ available to you today!
If you have made the choice to follow Jesus, thank Him for all He has done for you! Take a moment to express your gratitude and appreciate the work that He has done in you!
Heavenly Father, thank You for the ‘mulligan’ that you paid so much for that we get to experience for free. There is nothing we could ever do to turn our lives around and make them acceptable to You. Help us to take a moment this morning to truly consider what You have done for us and respond accordingly. In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 