703) When I was young, my parents allowed me to go to summer camp. I absolutely loved it. One reason was because there were many activities to do. There was canoeing, horseback riding, swimming and more. One summer, I did archery. It looked a lot easier than it was and I don’t think I hit the target very much during that week. I remember seeing my instructor’s arrow just missing the bullseye to the right and though he was happy with where his arrow landed; he showed me why accuracy in this sport is important and I’ve never forgotten it. He said that what starts off being only a fraction of an inch off, if the arrow continued in that direction, it would get further and further from the bullseye.

It’s interesting that the Hebrew word in the Old Testament, hhatah  חטאה, means “to miss the mark”. In 1 Samuel 13-14, we see King Saul’s leadership missing the mark and this takes Israel on a pathway that continually gets worse. It is the king’s son, Jonathan, who hits the mark by doing exactly what God tells him. Bullseye!

Missing the target, regardless of how close it is, is still missing the target. Each of our actions and choices can hit the bullseye or miss it. If we keep this in mind, it should make a difference what kind of marksman we are and will become.