Let’s pretend that one day along about the middle of July, your spouse (if you have one) hands you the cordless and says, “It’s Tiger-Tiger Woods.” You are sipping lemonade at the time and lounging in a hammock you purchased on sale at Wal-Mart when it dropped below 20 bucks. Taking the phone, you jam it to your ear and say, “Yeah right, who is this, and what do you want?”

Silence. Then you hear a laugh you’ve heard on TV. You picture a grin you’ve seen while he hoists major trophies above his head.

“Will you golf with me?” Asks Tiger. “We tee off at one PM.”

“Urn …uh…” you stammer. “Well, ahem-“

“It’s just me and a few friends.”

“F-f- friends?” Your tongue will not cooperate.

Amid the shock, you hear him mention a few of his buddies. Some guys named Arnold and Jack. He says the three of them just want to hang out a bit. Get to know you.

“Where do we land the helicopter?” He asks.

You are having trouble responding for two reasons: There is lemonade up your nose. And you have fallen out of the blasted hammock.

“Uh, you can land it at the hospital,” you manage. “I’ll meet you there. I think I’m having a heart attack.”

Ridiculous, you say. That could never happen. And you’re probably right. The odds of Tiger calling your house today are the same as the odds of being hit by a falling coconut in Nome, Alaska. After all, a master of the game of golf wouldn’t stoop to play with the likes of us, would he?

Well, I have bad news and I have good news. The bad news is that you might be right about Tiger. But the good news is that the Master of all creation has extended you an invitation to walk with Him. He has your picture in His wallet; He has a tee time booked with you. The Bible says, “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love” (Ephesians 1:4 MSG)

Phil Callaway, Golfing with the Master. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2006, p. 9-10.