GIVE ME THAT ONE BACK

September 24 

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world,

and death through sin, and so death spread to all men,

because all sinned.  Romans 5:12

​The only sport I ever got into was archery, and I really took it seriously. By the time I was in college, I had the best of equipment, and I could pop a balloon from 50 yards. I joined an archery league, and we would travel to schools promoting the sport, shooting out candles and breaking poker chips. Once, we even took on the Fort Wayne police pistol team in a target shoot! 

​I can’t forget that moment when I won my first tournament. The rule was that you had to shoot a 275 out of 300 before you could wear the black outfit that we used as our uniform. One arrow after another I loaded onto the bow: load, raise, draw, aim, hold your breath, release. Then that awful moment of silence as you wait for the arrow to snap the paper target as it hit. Sometimes I could tell right away that it was not going to be a bullseye, and I thought, “Oh, no, I want that one back, quickly before it hits!” Sure enough, it missed the mark. You do that, too. You and I do it every day. 

​Romans 5:12 uses the word “sin” or “sinned” three times, and the word in Greek is hamartia, which means “to miss the mark”. Like you say the wrong thing, you let a chance to witness slip by, you get too busy to pray, you get the scripture reference wrong, you ignore a saint who needs a boost, etc., and the minute it’s out, you feel it: “Oh, no, I want that one back, quickly.” But like with the arrow, it’s too late: it’s already on the record. You’ve missed the mark. God’s target will tell the score someday. 

​Don’t quit. Just knock the next arrow and try again. And try to improve. You won’t hit 300 in this world, but you can always do better than last week. 

Davy L. Troxel