Archery Lessons: Permission to hit the target

Romans 6:18-19"But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted. Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.  

I stood with my body squared. Focusing on form and follow through. Again I loosed the string, the arrow flew. It hit the target board just to the left of the bullseye. Still, I was quite happy with myself as I saw the progress I was making. My instructor came behind me and told me "You missed the target." I shot again. The arrow came closer. Again the instructor said "You missed the target AGAIN." To which I replied "Yeah, but I am getting better." He said "Better isn't good enough. You still missed it."

I tried even harder. THWACK! The arrow hit center. I was proud of myself, but the instructor burst my bubble and said "That may have been a good shot, but look at all the other times you missed. You are a terrible archer."

I shot again. I hit the bullseye again. The instructor said "You may have hit it, but its only because I taught you how to hit it. Don't take any credit for your accomplishment today."

Of course this story isn't true. Can you imagine if it were? I would never go back to this instructor for another lesson!

I remember having a discussion with a Christian which reminded me of my years in the institutional church. We were discussing sin. She was telling me that we all sin and can't avoid it because we are sinners. I disagreed with her. She asked me "Did you sin today?" I said "No, actually I had a good day. I really didn't sin." She told me that I sounded arrogant and that everyone sins every day and that it couldn't be avoided.

I restated my stance. She told me that there are sins that everyone commits unaware and no one can ever assert that they go through a single day without sinning and that I was arrogant in stating that I didn't sin. Again, I looked back at my day and said "I honestly didn't sin today."

As if looking for sins in my life she asked "What about sinful thoughts or intentions?" I got frustrated with her and said "What, are you TRYING to find dirt on me? Are you trying to make me look bad? I may not hit the target every single day or every single attempt but I DO hit the target. And when I do, I can be proud of that."

She went on to say "Even if you don't sin it is only because of Christ. There is no good in you. You are a sinner still."

Somehow in Christian thought today we are under the impression of an unwritten rule that we HAVE to sin. That it is unavoidable and to say otherwise is unthinkable. It is almost like that we are not allowed NOT to sin. If we have a great day that is free of sin, someone is bound to pick through it with a fine toothed comb and come up with imagined sins just to point out that we are not perfect.

Furthermore, if I DO miss the target (sin) people seem to be so quick to point it out even if I am improving and moving ever closer to that target. It is a shame that many people see Christ in this light. That He is always standing over our shoulder pointing out every small detail of how we missed the target with every shot. And when we DO hit the target we are only reminded of the dozens of times when we missed. We are also reminded that it was only because of Him that we didn't do it and that there is nothing good in us.

With this attitude I would think "Why even bother trying?" And there was a time in my church going days when subconsciously I felt this way. So I purposely gave myself to sin. Why? Because they convinced me that sin was unavoidable.

So, dear reader, let me tell you how my archery class REALLY went. The last time we shot, the instructor was happy (and pointed out several times) that we managed to hit the target board. He was pleased (and impressed) that we did so well. This week was more of the same, but more focused. Yes, the instructor critiqued our form, but when we DID hit the board satisfactorily, he said so.

At the end of the class, he said "Next week we will work on grouping." What this means is that the instructor would be content and pleased if the arrows hit in the general same spot every time. He wasn't looking for pure accuracy, he was looking for general improvement. He went on to say "In future classes we will work on dead accuracy, but for now, let's focus on hitting the board, and begin to focus on grouping."

I really see Christ in this method of instructing. He isn't quick to point out how we miss the target or aren't close enough to bullseye every single time, that is plainly obvious. Also He is ecstatic and very happy when we DO hit bullseye.

My archery instructor made it a point to tell me how pleased he was with one particular shot in which I sent the arrow in the dead center of the board. It was actually the perfect shot.

The Bible tells us that we are no longer slaves to sin. Slavery means no freedom. Freedom means we have a choice and don't have to obey the master. As Christians we don't HAVE to obey sin. We do have a choice. We can develop the skills of righteousness and learn accuracy. We are allowed to hit the target. We are allowed not to sin. Grace means that Christ already entered the tournament and hit dead center every single time and then gave us His target sheet for us to use as our credit. He won the tournament for us that qualifies us as righteous. Now we get to practice and improve our skills, with no fear of losing the tournament.

Even in the wild with a free believer mindset, I find people insisting that they can sin. Sure, you CAN miss the target but why would you want to? No one WANTS to miss the target. Grace and love allow us to, but always encourages us to aim better and hit closer. Dear Christians, you are free from the law, but you are also free to hit that target and beam with pride at a job well done!

When starting out, Christ is excited when we hit the board. He is excited when we can successfully "group" our shots. And when we are at a place where we can hit bullseye every time he is elated. His goal is to get us to the point where we are accurate every single time, and He furthermore understands that we are not there at this point in time. Like a good instructor he does critique our forms and helps us avoid missing the target. But also he is excited and pleased when we learn from our mistakes and compensate for them, and every time we hit closer to bullseye, He is truly happy.

I wish that all Christians thought this way. I wish that I could hear such things taught in this manner. I wish more churches had this positive attitude. I wish more churches acknowledged that we are indeed free from sin and never see a reason to remind us of our potential, or apparent sins in our lives. Satan is referred to as the accuser of the brethren. I find a lot of accusing in this religious line of thinking. They need to tell us we are in bondage to sin, that we have to sin. It is almost a sin NOT to sin, as weird as that sounds.

So dear reader. Archers to the line. You do have permission to hit that target and enjoy your accomplishments when you do.