What does a golf club, a safety zone, and a crutch have in common?

What do these three items have in common?

1. First off, golf represents everything we do as HOBBIES.
2. Remember safety zones? We used them as children when we grew tired of running away from the chaser in the all-time great child’s game of tag. Safety zones represent SAFE PLACES.
3. A crutch represents illness, infirmity, injury… SICKNESS.

So what do they have in common? They’re the way we use God! We like to categorize God. We like to keep him in a nice safe box somewhere in our lives. Maybe he’s a little more prominent with you than others but really, don’t we all keep God where he is convenient?

For instance, some of us treat God as a hobby. We may go to church on the weekends. Some of us are really good about it. We may never miss a weekend. Some people even go multiple times or even to multiple churches. We know we’re supposed to, or maybe our hubby or wife wants us to, or we do it because our parents took us as kids so now we take our kids. But that’s it! Monday starts and we have no more time for God until Saturday or Sunday rolls around. He’s a hobby. Something to do with our spare time.

Others treat God as a safety zone. Just like in the game of tag, when we get tired, or we do something really stupid, we cry out “God help me.” Maybe we’re in danger of losing our jobs, or we’re getting ready to get on a plane, or we’ve done something wrong and fear that we’re about to get caught. Whatever it is, at the moment of crisis, we say “God, help me!” He’s our safety zone. Somewhere to escape to until we’re ready to venture out again. But when we go out… Where does God go in our lives?

Similar to the safety zone is the God crutch. When we’re sick… I mean really, really sick, we come to God asking for healing for ourselves or someone we love. After all the Bible calls God the Great Physician and we’re told that he can do anything. So heal us God, we need you. Right now, we really need you. Of course, when the illness is past, we move right back into our old patterns or worse if healing doesn’t happen then we blame God for not being there for us when we really really needed him.

Be honest with yourself, doesn’t that cover what we use God for most of the time? Check this out: In Mark 12:30 Jesus says “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” We’re commanded to love God with everything. Everything! He wants you on Sundays. Absolutely. But not as your hobby. He wants your whole life. Mondays. Tuesdays. Wednesdays. He wants it all. He wants you to think of him as your safety zone but he also wants to be there when you feel safe. And yes, he is the Great Physician and he wants you to come to him when you’re not well but he wants the healthy you too.

Get this: God doesn’t want Pastor Nate. He wants Nathan! He wants a relationship with me. God doesn’t want Suzy Homemaker, who’s trying to figure out how to get everything done. He wants Susan, that precious daughter that he wants a relationship with. God doesn’t want Sammy Sales Guy. He wants Sam. All of him.

God doesn’t want a part of you. He wants all of you!