Phil Mickelson

No one has ever shot a 62 in any major championship in professional golf. Phil Mickelson almost did that yesterday in the British Open. The key word is “almost”. His 16-foot putt on the 18^th green caught the right side of the cup and stopped on the other side of the hole. Mickelson knew what was at stake when he putted, and he was clearly disappointed when the ball wouldn’t drop into the hole. He said, “That putt on 18 was an opportunity to do something historical.” Mickelson had to settle for a 63.

That’s the way it is in life. We have a chance to do something fantastic, but fall just short. You don’t make the grade you hoped for on the big test. You make it to the final 2 applicants, but the other person gets the dream job. The person you thought was the one you would spend the rest of your life with breaks off the relationship. A momentary lapse in judgment causes you to fall short of the high standards you set for yourself. There are any number of times we miss the mark, and it causes major disappointment in our lives.

Romans 3:23 says that we all “…have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” However, the very next verses assure us that we Christians “…all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith…” (vv.24-25).

Whenever you fall short of the goal, remember that forgiveness and redemption are available through Jesus!