Aiming For Perfection

by Kathleen Whitten

One of my favorite sports at summer camp was archery. I remember traipsing out to the hot archery field to stare at the black bull’s eye and practice my aim. Perspiration dripped from my forehead as I pulled my bow and arrow back and aimed shakily at the bull’s eye - the mark of perfection.

For a while, I missed the target completely. Finally, my arrows hit the white outside rim of the target and then the inside colors of yellow and red. And one day - bull’s eye! Hitting the target felt good, but nothing could replace the exhilaration of hitting the bull’s eye!

For a Christian, God’s Word, God’s Truths, and God’s Righteousness ARE the bull’s eye of perfection! God tells us very clearly that we are to aim for the bull’s eye of perfection in our lives.

2Corinthians 13:11 says “... Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

But we ask: Aim for perfection? Isn’t that a little extreme? After all, none of us can be perfect.

No, God knows that none of us are going to be perfect. Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” But God still calls us to aim for the bull’s eye of perfection.

It is interesting to note that the word “sin” in the Greek language literally translates “to miss the mark.” God is not so concerned with us missing the mark as He is with where we choose to aim. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross covers our missing the mark (sin), but we have the choice of where to aim. If we do not aim at the bull’s eye of perfection of God, then we will never know the exhilaration, the peace, or the full life that God intended for us.

In archery, after achieving a certain score at each target, archers are promoted to another target a further distance away. And in learning to shoot from a further distance, archers have to aim a little higher and hold their aim as each arrow is released.

In the same way, as our aim and shots become more Christ-like and we hit more bull’s eyes, God presents us with more challenging distances to the targets and life becomes more and more rewarding!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, please give me the grace to aim at the bull’s eye perfection of God. Teach me His ways through His Word and help me to hold my aim! Only through You, Holy Spirit, can I change. Only through You, God, can I love. Only through You, Christ, can I be cleansed, whole, forgiven and fulfilled. Thank you for giving me a high calling. Thank you for fulfilling my purpose in God.

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