BULLSEYE!

If we do not know what our Target is, how are we going to hit it?

When I looked up the definition for TARGET, the dictionary gave me 4 basic definitions…

#1) “An object usually marked with centric circles, to be aimed at in shooting practice or contests.”

The first definition brought back an immediate memory from High School.

When I was a sophomore in High School we had ARCHERY as our Physical Education Class.

I remember it so clearly in my mind. We were all asked to stand in a straight line, side by side. We were to position ourselves “6 feet apart!”  Sound familiar? This was not for COVID reasons but for our safety. We were each given an archery bow and three arrows.  I remember our P.E. Teacher, Ms. Bee, standing right beside me as she instructed all of us to stand firm with our feet apart, looking squarely at the TAGET in front of us. I have a vivid picture of the leather hand coverings she wore on her hand and wrists. She was obviously not a “novice” at this like her students were! 

Each of us had a large round TARGET that looked to be made out of straw. It was attached to a tall base that had three long legs which enabled it to stand solid and sure.  It was not going to fall over. Even in those crisp, cold, windy days of a Sacramento winter.  

Ms. Bee demonstrated how to place the arrow securely in the bow. Each arrow had a grove in the center back amid the feathers. The grove was there to secure the arrow in place and the feathers were there to help keep the arrow straight in flight. She pulled the arrow back firmly and held it in place. She then instructed us to point the arrow directly at the center of the TARGET, AKA, the bullseye, and have your eye on the center of the Target as you release and let the arrow fly!

I will never forget how fast that arrow flew from her bow to the center of the target. She hit the BULLSEYE! She was not “an expert archiest,” but she was however, practiced and SURE of each step she needed to take to keep her eye on the TARGET and hit the BULLSEYE!  I am sure from time to time that she missed and hit one of the outer, centric circles. But I am also sure that she kept practicing and following each necessary step to ensure her arrows hit more BULLSEYES than circles!

Now the practice of ARCHERY, setting up a “TARGET,” with centric circles on it, and putting the arrow into my bow, pulling back and letting it fly toward the target, made perfect sense as I read the first definition in the dictionary.

But I have to admit, definitions 2, 3, and 4 made me stop and think about targets and shooting at them!

#2) “Any object used for this purpose.”

#3) “Anything fired at.”

and #4) “A goal to be reached.”

While none of these definitions were “shocking” to me, they did ring a strange bell in my mind.

If I am aiming at a target that I intend to hit with an arrow, shot from a bow at quite a distance and with full force behind it, I could do some damage.  If indeed my aim is aimless!

If I take my eyes off of my sure target, and aim at “any object” I use as a target, or at anything I decide to “fire at,” or even at a goal I chose on my own to “reach,” I could cause a lot of damage!

Only when my TARGET is sure and true, will I be able to aim, shoot and hit the BULLSEYE!

I do not want my life to be full of aimless shots at random targets. More than anything, I do not want my careless arrows to be shot out of my bow and hit anything I may fire at randomly.

I want my life to be purposeful! I want to know my TARGET, practice my shots, and aim in the direction my Lord Jesus Christ points me in! I want to read His Word daily, pray to Him daily,  and listen to Him daily so that my Target is solid and my aim is sure!

How easy it is to shoot out thoughtless and careless arrows that hit random targets in whichever direction I point them in? I want to stop, think and pray before I shoot arrows out of my mouth or before they come flying out of my actions. I want to make sure my arrow is pointed directly at the target Jesus Christ has set for me. Then I want to carefully aim and shoot only in that direction!

JESUS CHRIST IS THE TARGET OUR LIVES ARE TO BE AIMED AT!

Everything we say, everything we do, every activity we engage in, every battle we fight or every battle we endure, JESUS CHRIST IS OUR TARGET!

TRUTH BOMB

If you do not fix your eyes on the target and aim for it, you will never hit it!

When we fix our eyes on Jesus we will hit the BULLSEYE every time!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrew 12:1-2

Our Target is not COVID. Our Target is not Crisis. OUR TARGET IS CHRIST!

If your eyes are fixed on Jesus Christ alone, and not on COVID or Crisis, you will hit the Bullseye every time!

Speak Truth Love