Phil Mickelson in the 2004 Masters. It was his first Masters victory.
It is a very special place and even more special atmosphere. If you are ever given the opportunity to go to this event, do so. You will not regret it.
Yesterday, I got a chance to watch some of the tournament from my favorite hole, the 16th. From my vantage point, I saw Tiger Woods birdie the 15th hole, to which the crowd erupted with cheers. Then, second round co-leader, Ian Poulter hit his tee shot to about 8 feet on the 16th and made his subsequent birdie putt. We cheered loudly for that, too. Many in the crowd threw their hands up, some applauded loudly, others whistled and others simply yelled loudly. The patrons (as they are referred to at the Masters) are normally reserved at the Masters, but they certainly cheer for great accomplishments (see the photo of Phil Mickelson's winning birdie on the 18th hole in the final round 2004). My point here, we cheer when we see a great event that evokes excitement and emotion.
We see similar, even more boisterous cheers in college football.
Georgia Tech's Anthony Allen scores a touchdown against Clemson, Sep 17, 2009. Far left: Derrick Moore (Georgia Tech Chaplain) cheers on Allen's touchdown run. Photo courtesy of ajc.com
When we see our favorite athlete (I love watching golfers like Tiger, Phil, Anthony Kim, Davis Love III, Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, etc) or our favorite team (mine is my alma mater Georgia Tech) do something great, we cheer very loudly, enthusiastically, sometimes to the point of being and looking ridiculous. The other day (and here's where this all ties to my spiritual journey) I had a thought, "Why don't we cheer the same or similarly for those that repent and turn toward God?" Jesus told us in the Parable of the Lost Sheep that the angels in heaven do so:
I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15:7 (NIV)Some of you may think, "church is a solemn and holy place" or you may say "worshiping and giving praise to God is different than cheering in sports". Those are good points. However, my point here in this blog is that our hearts are more apt to celebrate the worldly things, sports and athletics, more than spiritual achievements. I have been guilty of this most of my life. Don't take this the wrong way, there is nothing wrong with celebrating sports and athletic accomplishments. College football is a good thing, the Masters is a good thing, so long as we are putting God first in our lives. Where I see the issue is when we see someone repent (especially those we love), get baptized, put their faith and trust in Jesus, why don't we cheer? Why don't we boisterously clap? Afterall, they are changed for eternity! Forty years from now we won't remember who won the National Championship in 2008, or the 2010 Masters, but for eternity we will spend with our Savior and Lord if we place our trust in him! We know that Jesus will win in the end, so why not celebrate those that we will spend eternity with?
My believer's baptism, September 20, 2009
Maybe I'm off base here, since I'm still relatively new (3 years) in my Christian journey, and maybe the angels celebrating is enough. But this question was placed upon my heart about a week or so ago, and attending the Masters was a reminder of this. Maybe cheering out loud is not appropriate in church, maybe it is. But I believe it certainly deserves the at least the same emotional energy, if not more, than what we spend cheering our favorite athletes and teams.
My question to you today is, "What are you cheering for?"
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