Everyone loves a good comeback story.
After years of being counted out as a player that could compete at the highest level in a sport that he literally revolutionized (much like Michael Jordan did for the sport of basketball), Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters - the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. He did this after an 11 year hiatus from winning a major tournament, and he did this after four back surgeries and besetting chronic injuries, not to mention a tumultuous personal life over the last several years that landed him in divorce, scandal, arrest, and the front page of tabloids. This past weekend was the only major win in his career where he came from behind and was not leading the field the entire tournament. Tiger’s comeback story at the Master’s is multifaceted and much more than just a win at a golf course. It could be argued it is perhaps one of the best comeback stories of all time in the world of sports.
And whether you are a golf fan or not, even a Tiger Woods fan or not, everyone of us loves a good comeback story. And while Tiger's comeback story at the 2019 Master's is great, we are still longing for an even bigger comeback story, one of eternal proportions.
And that’s because deep down we desire redemption.
We desire to see what is broken put back together, that which is useless given meaning and purpose, for something that is dead to breath life and vitality once more. We desire freedom, we desire redemption.
And this is where we find the greatest story of redemption mankind has ever known, a story of a creative, loving God who creates beauty, with the crowing pinnacle bearing his very own image; male and female. A story where this crown jewel defaces that image and usurps authority, creating a long lasting and far reaching effect of devastation and destruction. Destruction and devastation that we all still experience to this day. Every child that is bullied at school, every mass shooting and act of hatred and racism, every unborn child killed, every sexually molested and trafficked human being, every #MeToo moment, every hungry person without food, clothing, and shelter, every person taken advantage of for the selfish benefit of another … and everything in between … all a part of a story of destruction the likes and grandeur that is hard to fathom.
Luckily for us the story doesn’t end there. This God who desires to swoop us back up in his story, without overriding our God created image-bearing beauty of free will, and redeem us back to wholeness, peace, love, and eternal living. And with the resurrection of his Son Jesus, a way has been initiated for our redemption (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14) and for our eternal living to begin now as we trust and obey Jesus.
May we each be caught up in the greatest comeback story ever told.