← Focus on the Family with Jim Daly
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- [00:01]
Focus on the Family Announcer
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- [00:32]
Bernhard Langer
Isn't there more to life than just a few years we live on this earth? There's got to be more. And there's more than just making money or being successful. There's just far more important things. As I said, you know, where do we spend eternity? That should be one of the big questions we should all ask.
- [00:53]
Jim Daly
That's two time Masters champion Bernhard Langer sharing about the most important thing in life, eternity, relationship with Jesus Christ. He's our guest today on FOCUS ON THE FAMILY with Jim Daly. And I'm John Fuller.
- [01:06]
John Fuller
Yeah, thankfully I was able to meet up with Bernard last year while he was here in Colorado Springs at a PGA Tour of Champions at the Broadmoor. He was so gracious to agree to tape before he started his, I think second or third round. Oh, my goodness.
- [01:21]
Bernhard Langer
Yeah.
- [01:21]
John Fuller
I'd be like, what? I can't do that. But he was very gracious. He has quite a story. Growing up in humble beginnings in Germany, working as a caddy as a young and then falling in love with golf. And through a lot of hard work, he made it to the top of his sport. And now he is in his late 60s. He is one of the most winningest players in history. I am not sure if that is grammatically correct, conveys the idea. Yeah. And of course, he landed in the World Golf hall of Fame, which is a great honor. But the thing that changed his life and his family's life forever was an encounter with Jesus Christ. And you'll hear that story today.
- [02:00]
Jim Daly
Bernhardt is known as the father of German golf and he's now in his 20th season on the PGA Tour of Champions, the second all time winner on the European Tour. And he played in his final Masters tournament last year. And with that event underway this week, it seemed like a great time for us to share this conversation on FOCUS ON THE FAMILY with Jim Daley.
- [02:23]
John Fuller
You came out of the womb kind of swinging because your mother had a diagnosis of a high risk pregnancy. What was going on there?
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Bernhard Langer
And I wasn't supposed to come out of the womb. My mother had one son. He passed away when he was three months. Then she had another son that lives. He's my older brother now five years older, and my manager. She had another one, our sister Maria. And when she had her, she was told by the doctor, you should never have another child. No more pregnancy, because you will die and your child will die. And then you leave a husband with two little kids behind. But they were strong Catholics, and in those days you didn't abort, period. So she got pregnant, and that was me. And so now the doctor says, you gotta get rid of this pregnancy, of this child. And she says, no, I'm not doing it.
- [03:21]
John Fuller
Yeah, Bernhard, that attitude. Focus on the family. We are an organization dedicated to fight for those preborn babies and their moms. So I really appreciate that. I always, you know, I was born into a poor. I was the last born. My mom was 42 when she had me. Doctors tried to talk her into aborting me. And, you know, we both sit here making it through that gateway into life. Does it give you a special insight or drive about that passion for life?
- [03:52]
Bernhard Langer
Well, it certainly does. And I think in my case, I believe there was spiritual warfare from the very first day. You know, the evil one didn't want me to be alive. And at least that's how I see it.
- [04:07]
John Fuller
Oh, I think it's accurate. The scripture says in John 10:10, the thief, meaning Satan, comes to steal, kill and destroy. And he had you right at the top of his list, it sounds like. So moving along from there, you were just a couple years older than me, but that was post war Germany. What was that environment like as a little boy growing up in what was like a rebounding country?
- [04:29]
Bernhard Langer
It was, yeah, very diffic. Difficult in terms of we didn't have anything. I mean, my dad didn't have a car till I was 12. That's when he could afford his first car. We didn't have a television till I was eight and it was black and white with three channels. You know, things like that. We never really lacked food because my parents worked both very hard to provide food. But in terms of closing, I don't think I got new shoes till I was about 12 or 14. We didn't even have a bathroom in the house initially that they built with their own hands, this tiny little house. Because my dad was a bricklayer. We had an outhouse and we used newspaper stuff like that.
- [05:15]
John Fuller
Now, in Germany you had, I believe, the draft, so you had to do a compulsory military time. But there's where you first had a setback physically. What happened in all that context.
- [05:26]
Bernhard Langer
Yeah, it was for me the worst time of my life next to having the yips. But I was 18 when I finished my apprenticeship as an assistant pro. I got my diploma as a head professional and I thought I was going to make a living teaching golf. But I won the German national clothes championship when I was 17. And businessman in Cologne said, if you're interested playing the European tour, just playing tournaments, I will help you financially. I said, oh, that sounds exciting. And so I contacted him, he sponsored me, we struck it deal, and at age 18, I went to the European tour. So one year on the European tour, I, I did okay. Finished 56 on the money list and got exempt for the following year. Then I got drafted into the Air force. I was 19 years old. That meant my whole career got, you know, put on hold, put on hold for 15 months. And the first three months was boot camp. And one particular morning they said, okay, today we're going to march all day long. It was in January. Frozen ground, similar to here. Sometimes snow, sometimes frost. Thirty pound backpack, rifle. And we go out there walking around the fields and into the woods. And the guy in charge, you know, basically not even 20 years old or whatever, but he was in charge. He said, today we're practicing low airplane attack. And we. So what does that mean? Well, low enemy airplanes flying at you, shooting machine gun bullets at you. You throw yourself on the ground as quick as you can, so you're a smaller target than standing up. So he showed us, throw yourself on the ground. And we did that hundreds of times. Now imagine 30 pound backpack, rifle. Every time you hit the ground, that backpack does that right into your back. So I made it through that day. Next morning, 6 o', clock, the alarm went off. I tried to get out of bed and I couldn't. I was in excruciating pain. Couldn't lift my hand, couldn't lift my foot, couldn't roll, couldn't do anything. So I was sharing a room with seven others. We were eight in a room. And they said, get out, get up. They're going to give you hell if you don't get up. You know, you got to be on time. I said, I can't, I can't. And they, you know, they thought I was choking because they were drunk most nights because they treated us so bad
- [07:55]
John Fuller
that, you know, coping mechanism.
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Bernhard Langer
Exactly so. And I didn't do that. Anyways, finally an officer came and said, you know, we know you're just acting like you're in pain or something. I said, no, I'm in pain. I can't move. Anyways, make a long story short, they called the ambulance, sent me to the hospital. Had a stress fracture in my lower back, L4, L5 and two bulging disc. So six weeks in the hospital with my feet hung up. So to take the pressure off. And I thought I was done. I thought my golf career was over. But I was able to get back, do some rehab, and to this day have not had a back operation, even though I've had lots of back problems in the years to come as well.
- [08:49]
John Fuller
That's amazing that you were able to overcome that. I mean, that usually is a sports ending career. Let's move to the Masters. I've had a chance to play the Masters. Not in the Masters, but play Augusta. I needed to correct that very quickly, didn't I? But it beautiful course. It's kind of the dream. I called it the Disneyland for golfers, right? You just, you step onto the property and boom, you're in a special place. But that's kind of where a lot of spiritual things happen for you as well, right? I mean, that you won it. I think it was in 1985.
- [09:23]
Bernhard Langer
It was, yeah. I won in 85 after finishing in second. And the British Open twice, just in 84 and 81, I think. But on the ninth hole, I walked to the 10th tee box and I had a quick glance and there's this big leaderboard and I saw Curtis Strange and at the top. And I was next, I think. And I said on live camera and all that, Jesus Christ. I couldn't believe I was four shots behind Curtis Strange. And I thought nothing of it. I thought it was just a powerful expression. So. But that night I couldn't sleep at all. And the next night. And the next night. And I'm gone. What's going on? You know, you've just become a major champion is what you've dreamed about. And you just got married a year ago. You got a beautiful young wife, you have money, you have cars, you're on top of the world. I was ranked number one in the world when the world rankings came out shortly afterwards. I had everything this world could offer for a 27 year old and more. But I had an emptiness and I had no idea what it was. No clue. So we drove to Hilton Head for the next tournament. I played a practice round with Bobby Clampett, who was one of the young superstars at the time. He was supposed to be the next Jack Nicklaus, and he was a believer. So we finished our practice round on Tuesday and he Goes, bernie, why don't you come to the Bible study on Wednesday night? Tomorrow night, and I go. Bible study? What exactly are you doing? You know, I grew up Catholic. I didn't have my own Bible. I went to church confession, tried to be a good boy, kind of good human being. So he said, oh, we have this chaplain, Larry Moody is his name, and he comes every Wednesday. We spend an hour together, and he either teaches out of the Bible or about a topic, you know, that can relate to our lives. So I was very vague. I said, well, Bobby, I'm not sure I'm going to come, but thanks for the invite and I'll talk to my wife Vicky, and we'll see. So mention it to Vicky. We decided to go. We had nothing else to do Wednesday night. Another story before I continue with that is three days earlier on Sunday evening when I made that comment. Jesus Christ. Curtis Strange. There's four shots ahead of me. Larry Moody, the chaplain, and Scott Simpson, another believer, were watching on tv, and, you know, they heard me swear on national international television, and they said, let's pray for this German fellow that one day he would use Jesus Christ in a different way.
- [12:11]
John Fuller
Wow.
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Bernhard Langer
And here I am three days later, walking into the Bible study that Larry Moody is teaching, and Scott Simpson, who was a skeptic for three and a half years, he went to the Bible study to prove that the Christians are all idiots and they need a crutch and Christianity is rubbish. Took him three and a half years to become a Christian. Anyways, yeah, I walk into the room and what does Larry Moody teach on John 3? 3, you have to be born again. If he had thought of anything else, I would have said, yeah, I've heard that before. I heard that Sermon on the Mount. I heard, you know, Jesus did this wonder or that I've been going to Church for 25 years. But he was teaching about born again. And the Catholic church where I grew up never talked about being born again. They had talked about being a good person, earning your way there. And the Bible says, nobody can earn their way there. No one. So I was very curious. I wanted to know the truth. So I went to Larry Moody after the study and said, what kind of Bible are you using? And he flipped it over and said, oh, it's the niv new international version. But they all more or less say the same thing, no matter what version you get. And he says, I recommend you buy your own Bible and start studying. And if you have questions, you can ask me. To make a long story short, about three Months later, after going to more Bible studies, start reading the Bible. It was very clear to me that I had to be born again and that I was never good enough on my own to earn my way to heaven. But Jesus did all that for me. I just had to believe in him. So I got on my knees, prayed the prayer, the acceptance prayer, and that emptiness that I had was gone.
- [14:18]
John Fuller
Yeah, I mean, that's so. I could see the emotion in your face even today, those years ago. But that ability to leap to a point of faith, it's an amazing transition, Right, that hole in your heart. So many people, Bernard, have that hole in their heart. I've talked to gay activists, and they've talked about, you know, if we just get marriage, it'll fill that void in our heart. And I will say to them, I don't think that'll do it. And sure enough, to their credit, a couple of them came back, talked to me and said, it's not filling that space.
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Bernhard Langer
Right. Well, it's like, me, I had everything, you know, I had everything you could. Earthly, everything you could. I had more than I could even have imagined. Coming from a little village and being a bricklayer's son, you know, being a multimillionaire and playing golf with kings and queens and the heads of state and having success all over the world and all that, it's like, incredible. But I still had that emptiness because God was missing in my life.
- [15:23]
John Fuller
Yeah. And what an amazing transition. Scott Simpson actually has been a supporter of Focus on the Family. Your friend, the golfer.
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Bernhard Langer
Yeah.
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John Fuller
What a great guy in that regard. I mean, you've had so much success in every direction. I just met your son and his wife, and your little granddaughter, who is so charming. She's a bundle of energy. So often we look at that, we see this in Proverbs. Is that a great source of joy for you, your four children, your grandchildren? I mean, when you think of your family, just speak to the importance of that.
- [15:59]
Bernhard Langer
Oh, absolutely. Family was always important to me. And, you know, besides God, my next priority, really. So we're very blessed that all of our children believe in God. And we have now four grandkids, which is, you know, a whole nother story. It just gives you purpose, you know, on top of obviously sharing the good news. But one thing I also wanted to mention, you know, when I became a believer, my brother was my manager, five years older than me, and he was watching me like a hawk. He saw that I've fallen into the deep end. I've joined a sect or something like that. And he told me that a year and a half later, he says, I've been watching you and I was really worried about you, but I want what you got.
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John Fuller
Wow, that's terrific.
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Bernhard Langer
He became a believer. My parents became believers. I mean, there's a story, but.
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John Fuller
Sorry, no, I appreciate the emotion. It's real.
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Bernhard Langer
We built a home in Germany, my wife and I, because I thought I was going to play on the European tour, not the US tour. And we had the staircase, wooden staircase going up and put a little niche in the wall. And we put a. This was before I was a believer. Put Mary in there, you know, wood carving from over Ammergao, over Ammergaon. Was Mother Mary with Jesus? Because that's what Catholics often pray to, right? Well, one day when I became a believer, I didn't want to pray to Mary anymore. So I took the wood carving out of there and put it in the attic. My mother sees Mary is missing. She goes, where's Mary? I say, sit down. So we had a long discussion. I said, where in the Bible does it say I have to pray to Mary? If you can show it to me, I will pray to Mary. But if not, then accept Mary is gone and pray to Jesus, pray to God, because you don't have to go through Mary to get to God. You can pray directly to him. So we had many discussions along that line and finally they all turned to become believers.
- [18:21]
John Fuller
Oh, man, that is exciting. That's just a life well led. And I mean, even again, that emotion that you have. But what a beautiful thing God allowed in your life to draw your family into relationship with him and through your perseverance.
- [18:37]
Bernhard Langer
I think the Bible talks about that, right? There's blessings of a thousand generations or many generations, you know, but there can
- [18:47]
John Fuller
also be curses, probably right here at the end. That idea of legacy, we've touched on it a bit. But when you look back, you've had it all. You're still doing great. Winning tournaments, making money. 67. You're still doing great. But when you look at it overall, that legacy that you hope your children, your grandchildren, all the great great grandchildren that are going to see that you were their great, great grandpa. Right. Look what he accomplished. But what would you say to them? That they have to know. But in that context, and that's speaking to the rest of us as well, you've got the money, you've got the fame, but most importantly, you have the Lord.
- [19:30]
Bernhard Langer
Yeah, you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus. That's really what matters. Because it's all about him. You know, he created us for purpose. We're his. We're only living on this, in this world, for whatever amount of time it is. It's like a little dot on a long line of eternity. So the big question is, where do you spend eternity? In hell or in heaven, and how do you live your life here on Earth? You know, we're including myself. We're so focused on what we're doing today, and if things go wrong, we get upset. And instead of having an eternal view, we have a worldly view. And I fall into that trap many times. You know, like right now, I'm focused on the US Senior Open, because that's what I'm gonna do.
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John Fuller
Well, you're teeing off in a couple hours, so sorry we interrupted that, but I'm grateful. That's for sure.
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Bernhard Langer
It's not, but that's just, you know, we're so caught up. And the evil one has an amazing way of keeping us busy. You know, we have these iPhones, handies. I mean, we can be reached day and night, and it takes our time. And we don't spend enough time anymore reading the Bible, just being. Still spending time with God, which should be the priority of our lives. But the evil ones keeping us busy, we keep ourselves busy. And it's less and less of that. And sadly, I have to say, I've lived in America now 40 years. You know, this country was built on spiritual principles. Right. And God we trust. Many are moving away from that, and it's not doing us any good.
- [21:19]
John Fuller
Yeah, I totally agree on that. The opportunity to share Christ as Scott Simpson did with you and other players that are Christian. Mark o'. Mara, I know there's a number of really solid believers, both in the younger PGA Tour, but also the Senior Tour. Have you been emboldened to do that? Are you able to talk to other players to say, absolutely, I was where you're at, but let me share with you.
- [21:47]
Bernhard Langer
Yeah. You know, we still have Bible study every Wednesday or Thursday, depending on what tour you play on. We just had one actually, last night here at Colorado Springs. And, yeah, we always try to encourage non believers to think about it. Those that are sitting on the fence or just find the truth, you know, isn't there more to life than just a few years we live on this earth? There's got to be more and more. There's more than just making money or being successful. There's just far more important things. As I said, you know, where do we spend eternity? That should be one of the Big questions. We should all ask the question. We have been extremely blessed by Larry Moody, the chaplain. He was the chaplain on the PJ tour for over 40 years. You know, he ministered to Scott Simson, Larry Nelson, Tom Lehman, on and on. There's a list of Larry Mize. I mean, I'm only mentioning a handful. There's dozens and dozens that he's poured into, and he's still doing it now on the Champions Tour. He's been out here over 10 years.
- [23:01]
John Fuller
Oh, wow. So, you know, faithful service.
- [23:04]
Bernhard Langer
Yes, very much. And very solid, you know, great foundation.
- [23:08]
John Fuller
Well, Bernard, we so appreciate you being with us. We know you got to go do your thing, but thank you first and foremost for just standing for Christ unashamedly. And when you look back to that comment at the Masters of using his name in vain, do you feel that forgiveness? Do you know the Lord said, okay,
- [23:28]
Bernhard Langer
absolutely, I felt that forgiveness as soon as I accepted him. You know, I felt like he promised, all of our sins are forgiven, past, present, and future, if you accept him and you repent. And the one thing we didn't discuss, and I hope I have one more minute. Sure. The second time I won the Masters in 93. So now, eight years later, I was a Christian, and they take me to Butler Cabin again. And the question was, you know, is the first victory more important or your second Masters? Which one means more? And I said something along the lines, well, you know, they're both very important. First one is first time I became a major champion. But to me personally, the second one is more important because it's Easter Sunday today, and we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So I believe I'm the only guy in Butler Cabin on interviews that mentioned Jesus Christ twice. Once in a bad way, once in a good way.
- [24:30]
John Fuller
Well, I love the sense of humor in that, and I believe God understands. Certainly forgives you. And what a wonderful testimony. Bernhard, thank you so much for being with us.
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Bernhard Langer
Thanks for having me, Chip.
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Jim Daly
What an inspiring conversation today with Bernhard Langer on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And what a great visit, Jim.
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John Fuller
Yeah, it was so much fun, especially being at the Broadmoor and being with the Senior PGA guys. That's who was playing that day. And again, it was just so nice of Bernard to take time before he went out on his round. Unbelievable. Yeah, just incredible. Just a few hundred thousand on the line. But it was amazing. And he was so generous. But what was so good is how much he loves the Lord. I mean, he's had a profound change in who he was from sinner to believer. And that's what he talked about. It was awesome. And that's what's most important to him, not the trophies and the money and all those things. And he said it so well right there at the end. You know, if you haven't explored what it means to be a Christian, put your faith in Christ, you might want to think about doing that before your last breath. Right? And now is the best time to start. If you're in that spot and you've never considered is Jesus who he said he was and is, I'd like to encourage you to come to our website. We have an online article called Coming Home which explains how to start that relationship with Jesus Christ. And then also Bernard told us the story of his mother being encouraged by doctors to abort him as a baby. Think of that. She and her husband thankfully didn't give in to that doctor's pressure. Focus on the Family has a wonderful program called Option Ultrasound that provides ultrasound machines and training for pregnancy centers. And together, we encourage women to choose life for their child. $60. We've been at this over 20 years. We know the metrics. It takes $60 to save a baby's life through Option Ultrasound. Gene and I support that every month. I hope you could consider saving a baby for $60.
- [26:40]
Jim Daly
Yeah. Call today to donate and to find that article Coming Home. The number is 800-232-6459, 800 the letter A in the word family or we've got the links in the show notes. And on behalf of the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Hi, I'm John Fuller, inviting you back next time as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
- [27:13]
John Fuller
Live your truth. A lot of people say that, don't they? But truth isn't something we decide. God has decided it for us. And it's our job as believers to share his truth with a world in need. I'll encourage you to do that through my podcast, Refocus with Jim Daly. I visit with fascinating guests about important topics like gender confusion, cancel culture, and more, while helping you share God's love with others. Listen@refocuswithjimdaily.com.