The reason, Nicklaus said, had to do with returning to the basics when he was starting to forget: correcting his swing, keeping his head down, eye on the ball. Square-one stuff, as it were.
Getting back to square-one is important in golf and games of skill, but even more so when it comes to diagnosing matters of the heart. It’s especially necessary because our hearts are always getting lost, looking for ultimate value and meaning (essentially what the word “worship” means) in all the wrong places; “deceitful above all things,” is the way the prophet Jeremiah put it, and “desperately wicked” (see Jer. 17:9. Hey, not too p.c. there, Jerry!)
Returning to square-one then is really learning to see where our hearts have wound up - what sort of deep weeds they’ve gotten into - as well as our only real remedy out of the rough. With this in mind, here are some “square one” propositions worth telling your heart (and especially so when you think Jeremiah just might be looking your way again):
1.) Listen - It’s All About Jesus.
Sounds cliché I know, but it really is. Speak this loudly to your heart, again and again. All your deepest questions about your purpose and place in this world begin and end in him. When Jesus summarized the whole Bible as really pointing to Himself, saying that the entire Old Testament Scriptures spoke of Him (Lk. 24:27), he was giving us a huge square-one truth: It’s His cross that stands as the center-piece of history, and which is rebellious mankind’s only hope.
Ask your heart, “is it possible you’ve gotten off track and thought it was really all about you – your need to be right, to be approved of and look good, and be esteemed? Welcome back to sanity, and clarity: you're worse than you ever thought you were, but Jesus' grace is so much better than you ever dreamed. Jesus alone has what you need most – grace, forgiveness, identity, approval, love, and even a new family to help you remember…that it’s really all about Him.
2.) You are Here to Love.
Again, this could sound sort of trite, if it weren’t true. As counselor Ed Welch notes, it’s inevitable: what you find in your relationship with people is what you find in your relationship with God. Have you tasted his grace, the grace of Jesus, who shows you what love really looks like – by laying down his very life – for you? The “square-one” truth is this: you will only love to the degree that you know how much you are loved.
This means that your true purpose – the whole reason why you exist, is in fact, love. (This tends to sort out a lot of foggy thinking about what you should do with yourself in your spare time too). It’s all wrapped up in two nice summary statements by Jesus: love God with all your heart, mind, and strength; followed by the second - love your neighbor as yourself.
But wait! Don’t click this article off without noting the vitally important square-one corollary to this truth: You can try these two things (the summation of all the law) but you will never do either of them perfectly - but that’s why going back to our first proposition is so vitally important. Jesus has loved enough for the both of you, and the secret is, the more you learn to rest in His performance, and to the degree that you know how much you are loved, you’ll actually be thinking more of others, and worrying less about you. Like I told you, Jesus has what you really need – and it’s a whole lot of love.
3.) He’s Bigger Than You, and By the Way, He Owns the World.
I know you wonder about things like “how can I manage “my world” and not get hurt?” As one of my pastor friends put it this past Sunday, “What if the mountains, i.e. the so-called stable places and people in your life, really do fall into the heart of the sea?" (Psalm 46). The answer is another square-one truth, as he went on to say: Jesus really is bigger and better than anything – including any person, place, or thing you can dream up, even in your wildest of dreams. And it is His world, as He reminded Job in the darkness of that whirlwind with all those nature and astronomy lessons, so He wisely knows what He’s doing with you too.
So when you forget that, and you probably will - remember that He will never, ever, forget you; you are more loved than all the many birds of this earth which he feeds, and the myriad beautiful flowers that he clothes with uncommon splendor (Matt.6:25-34). Then you’ll remember that you were made to find joy in worshipping and enjoying Him, the One who says “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)
Do me a favor and bring me back to "square-one" when I forget, will you?
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