Scottie Scheffler entered the Masters as the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, and after his dominating performance, left Augusta with the prestigious green jacket. He won his first major title, finishing 10-under for the tournament, and becoming the fifth player to win the Masters as the world’s No.1 ranked golfer. He has now won four of the last six tournaments he's played in. Along with Scheffler's amazing weekend, there were also impressive rounds, unbelievable shots, and memorable moments from other golfers in the field. But despite their best efforts, the other golfers weren’t good enough to get it done. Rory McIlroy had an incredible final round as he shot 8-under par, tying for the lowest round in Masters history. He also had the most exciting shot of the day as he hit a birdie from the bunker on the 18th hole to end his round. However, it wasn’t enough to win as he finished in second place and 3 strokes back. Collin Morikawa also nailed an unbelievable birdie chip shot from the same bunker as Rory, which allowed him to finish at -4. Even so, he still came up short of the score needed to win. Cameron Smith had a strong tournament and had a chance to win as he played in the final pairing with Scheffler. But on the 12th hole, he shot a triple-bogey thanks to landing in the water, and that knocked him out of contention. Russell Henley got off to a hot start during the front nine on Sunday as he made four-straight birdies (holes 6-9) and five total before the turn, sending him up the leaderboard. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to close the gap as he finished tied for 30th. Although the weekend was filled with elite golf, most of the field woke up today realizing their best efforts just weren’t enough to experience the victory they desired. As discouraging and defeating as it must be for the players, this statement is freeing when it’s understood in the context of God’s amazing grace. Even though we’ll never be perfect enough or good enough to earn God’s love and salvation, He gives it to us anyway when we place our faith in Jesus. Our great accomplishments and impressive good works still leave us falling short, so we must rely on Jesus to redeem us. We must realize our best efforts just won’t be enough to experience the lasting victory over sin and death we desire. We need Jesus. Paul explains in Romans 3:20-25 (NLT), “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. "Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood…” It’s so freeing when we accept we aren’t good enough on our own to “get it done” or “close the gap” and we trust in Jesus to do what we can't do. We receive His grace and now we rely on His power and strength, instead of our own, and humbly follow His way as He redeems and transforms us. We do fall short of God’s glorious standard, but we should be glad we can worship and trust a God who is perfect and loves us despite our shortcomings. Thankfully our mistakes don’t “knock us out of contention.” He made a way for us to know Him and to be made right in His sight. We can now confidently live with our souls at rest by acknowledging that it’s not up to our own efforts. Ephesians 2:8 (AMP) says, “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves , but it is the gift of God.” So whether in life we hit the birdie putt…shoot 10 under…land in the water on the 12th hole…or miss the crucial putt, so to speak, salvation isn’t based on our performance. Thankfully, God’s grace and love cover us because there is always enough! I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are so good and loving. I’m humbled by Your willingness to save me, despite my sinful heart. I know I’m nothing apart from You and I’m in desperate need of Your grace. Thank you for allowing Jesus to take my place on the cross, so I can rest in His righteousness. In His name, I pray, Amen.
Discussion Questions for PACKS:
Why is it important that we embrace the fact that we aren’t enough and do fall short?
As followers of Jesus, why should this understanding give us hope and confidence instead of feeling defeated by our weaknesses and shortcomings?
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