I have just finished three days of watching a group of ten-year olds chase the future. My job was to keep the coolers filled with ice water out on the golf course. There was purpose behind my work. Keep the players and their families hydrated. Keep tempers minimized by helping them keep towels and tongues cool. My coworkers and I succeeded rather well under the circumstances.
I wonder about the logic of the game of golf. You hit a small ball to move it along. You catch up with it only to hit again. You do your best to put it in a hole in the ground only to pick it up and hit it again. You are always chasing the ball and just when you catch up with it, you knock it out of sight once more. For these young lads and their often caddy-dads, there was at least the benefit of exercise. For most others that had carts, even the benefit of a good work out was absent.
Chasing the future is a phrase most fitting for these golf events. Many of the players know this is a short-lived interest. Others, however, dream of having their name inscribed someday on a silver cup as they win some notable tournament. They dream of the day when they will be on international television and have multimillion dollar sponsors. They are chasing the future.
As one modern proverb goes, "You are old when your regrets outnumber your dreams." Forgive my senior moments if I have quoted this before; it remains one of my favorites. To dream is to chase the future. You may catch up with it at times and find a dream has been realized, but there is always another tee from which to hit that ball, another green on which to putt, another hole into which you must drop that ball, and another dream waiting in which to lose yourself. You need to be chasing the future so that your dreams will always outnumber your regrets.
The golf course had multiple par three holes. Three young boys were good enough to have holes-in-one. The par fours and the par fives forced them to show their power and their consistency. Some caught their dreams and moved on. Others had experiences that resembled nightmares! All went to the next green determined to continue to chase their dream.
My dreams are like those various holes on the course. Some I have conquered with obvious divine intervention. Others have become nightmares that moved into the past with deep gratitude. Yet other dreams awaited. I was still chasing the future. I am still chasing the future. Though in my sixties, my regrets do not come close to outnumbering my dreams.
A follower of Jesus Christ does not carry the burden of saving the world. There should be no regrets that all things for the individual are not possible. Salvation and miracles are in the hands of God. A follower of Christ has one great dream in this life: to honor God in thought, word, and deed. The greater dream that will extend beyond death is to hear the words of acceptance, "Well done, good and faithful servant...Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:21, 23) When the end of this course arrives, believers will move into the celebration of victory that will last for eternity. Any regrets will disappear and what had been a dream will become reality.
Believers are pilgrims on a glorious path leading to the fulfillment of a glorious dream. Regrets are forgiven. Dreams are strengthened. We chase the future. That future is laid out before us as we come to tees to launch our dreams, move boldly along fairways, and come to greens where we will see the culmination of our efforts even as we prepare to move on to the next field of endeavor.
Whatever your age may be, keep your eyes on the future. Let it pull you forward. Chase its promise with all your strength. Long to hear the words of blessing. Refuse to allow regrets turn your focus to the past. Chase the future, and let your dreams multiply.
