by Adam Bar I Am
A reflection on grace, judgment, and unity in the body of Christ
One evening, I was scrolling through the endless useless videos and photos with the hope that somehow something would stir up my interest and would be something of worth, and, well, bring some sort of meaning to my life. It rarely does in the scheme of things, but this time, a photo of a golf ball appeared on the screen, and it intrigued me. What was the meaning behind it? What does it represent? Why are all the dimples numbered? And perhaps more importantly, why would someone take the time to actually number all those dimples, unless it was to count how many dimples was actually on the golf ball.
This stuck in my mind, and I also began to wonder, “how many dimples are on a golf ball?” So, I jumped onto Amazon, and bought a golf ball. Well a pack of three to be specific, but one I gave away to a friend, one of them I kept blank, and the other I began counting by writing the numbers on the insides of the dimples. It played on my mind, and I wondered what God was speaking to me about, and so started reading the scriptures and observing church life. It didn’t take long for God to show me the reason for bringing the golf ball, and the dimples to my mind, and He asked me how many dimples are on my golf ball. I’ll tell you in a second how many dimples there were.
And so, “How Many Dimples?” was born and as i pondered about the meaning of it all, I began to notice something, not just in others, but in myself too. I saw how easily we, as Christians, can start to measure one another. How we compare walks, question motives, and quietly count each other’s dimples, the marks, the dents, the flaws we think shouldn’t be there. I realised how quick we are to decide who’s spiritual enough, holy enough, mature enough, forgetting that only God knows the shaping He’s doing in each of us. I’ve seen people leave church wounded because someone else thought they knew better, and I’ve felt that sting myself. If I’m honest, I’ve probably caused it at times too.
This message came from that place, not of criticism, but conviction. The image of the golf ball spoke to me: a smooth ball doesn’t fly well; it’s the dimples, the imperfections, that make it soar. It reminded me that the very things we try to hide, or judge in others might be what God is using to shape us, to strengthen us, to prepare us for flight.
So, this isn’t about golf. It’s about grace. It’s about learning to trust the Designer, to stop comparing the work He’s doing in others, and to start loving again. Because when we do, the church, bruised and imperfect as she is, can finally rise and soar as one.
Pick up a golf ball sometime and hold it in your hand. It’s small, white, and covered in dents. Without those dimples, the ball would never go far. A smooth golf ball, no matter how strong your swing, falls short. It’s the dimples that make it soar.
What looks like flaws are actually part of the design. They don’t ruin the ball; they make it what it was meant to be.
One day I started thinking, “how many dimples does it take to make a perfect golf ball?” Some have 336, some 352, some even more. Mine had 329 dimples. There’s no single number because it all depends on the designer.
And then I thought, “how much more true is that of us?” How many dimples does it take before a person becomes what God designed them to be? How many trials? How many scars? How many lessons? How many tears? How many failures? Only God knows.
We’re all being shaped, some through joy, some through pain, some through their failings, some through years of quiet perseverance. And none of it is wasted.
“For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14
That means in Jesus, you already stand perfect before God, but the Holy Spirit is still shaping you, still working that perfection into your life, still forming your dimples, every pressure, every hardship, every season of growth.
Some of us are at a hundred dimples, some at three hundred, some are still smooth in places. But every one of us is being worked on by the same Designer.
And yet, and this is where it hurts, instead of celebrating what God is doing in one another, we so often turn and compare. We start counting each other’s dimples. We measure holiness by appearance, by reputation, by what we like or don’t like.
We whisper about who’s more spiritual, who’s not quite there yet, who’s got too many dents or not enough. And in doing so, we forget that we are not the designer.
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” (Romans 14:4)
“There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But you, who are you to judge your neighbour?” (James 4:12)
The spirit of division in the church doesn’t come from the outside world; it comes from within. It comes when we start counting dimples, when we decide that the way God is shaping someone else isn’t good enough, or not fast enough, or not tidy enough.
We divide over worship styles. We divide over who stands, who sits, who raises their hands, who doesn’t. We divide over appearance, over language, over past mistakes. And in all of it, we forget that every believer in this room, every believer across the world, is still in the hands of the same Designer.
A golf ball doesn’t launch itself. It sits still until the golfer takes it in his hand. And when the golfer is ready, when the moment comes, he swings, and the ball takes flight, carried by the wind.
Jesus prayed, “As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18)
When God is ready, He’ll send you. Further than you thought. Higher than you dreamed. And when He sends your brother or your sister, because He’ll send them too, maybe before you, maybe after you, but regardless of when, it will all be in His perfect time.
So we have to stop shouting from across the fairway, telling one another how many dimples we should have by now. We have to stop pretending we know how far someone else should be in their journey.
That Christian sitting next to you might have a hundred more dimples than you do, marks from pain, from loss, from growth you can’t even see, or from their countless failures. And maybe you’ve got fewer. Maybe you’re still early in the process. Who are we to say which of us is more complete? Who are we to decide when perfection has been reached?
The truth is, only God knows the number of dimples each of us needs.
So let’s stop judging and start loving. Let’s stop comparing and start praying. Let’s look at the battered, imperfect surface of each other’s lives and see beauty in the design. Because when we stop counting dimples and start trusting the Designer, unity returns.
When the church stops judging and starts embracing, the wind of the Spirit fills our sails again.
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)
God is still working. He’s not finished with you. He’s not finished with the person sitting beside you either.
Maybe that’s why Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
He knew the world would never believe in a divided church. He knew that unity, not uniformity, would be the mark of His people. We’re all shaped differently. We don’t need to look the same, talk the same, or carry the same number of dimples; we just need to belong to the same bag, held by the same Golfer.
Because when we surrender the spirit of division, and let love take its place, the church soars. Bruised, imperfect, but beautiful in His hands.
So next time you see, or hold a golf ball, remember this: the dimples aren’t flaws; they’re design. Your scars aren’t shame; they’re shaping. And that brother or sister you struggle to understand? They’re another ball in the same bag. Shaped differently, yes, but made for the same purpose.
When the time is right, God will take every one of us and drive us exactly where we’re meant to go.
Until then, let’s stop counting dimples. Let’s start loving one another again the way Jesus tells us to love.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34–35)
Let’s trust the Designer. And let the Spirit be the wind that carries us together.
Because only then, and only together, will the church truly fly.
Jesus is Lord!
Scriptures on Division and What Jesus Says About It
John 17:20–23 Jesus prays for unity: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You… Then the world will know that You sent Me.”
Mark 3:24–25 “If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”
1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”
Romans 16:17 “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
Ephesians 4:3–6 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Colossians 3:13–14 “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”