Hitting the Mark (Part 1)

"I'm so excited for deer season this year!" Ellis could hardly contain himself as he and his dad walked from the house out to their big backyard.His dad chuckled. "I remember the day I was old enough to go hunting. I was probably jumping up and down like you!"Ellis and Dad had just gotten back from the bow shop, and Ellis wanted to test out his new arrows before the big day. He quickly got out his bow, nocked his arrow, drew back, and let the arrow fly toward the target. WHOOSH! He let out a disappointed grunt when he saw that his arrow didn't even come close to the bulls-eye."Whoa, easy, Ellis. Remember what I taught you," said Dad. "Put your feet in the right stance. Good, good. Now draw back slowly, bend your arm--that's it. Now, find your anchor. Bring your index finger to the corner of your mouth. Good! Now, take your time. Breathe…"WHOOSH!"That was much better, Ellis!" Ellis smiled. "Thanks, Dad. I still didn't hit the bulls-eye though.""Well, getting a bulls-eye is never easy, even with practice." Dad gave Ellis a thoughtful look. "You know, this reminds me of something. What if I told you that in order to get into heaven, you had to hit that bulls-eye a hundred times in a row and never miss?"Ellis scrunched his eyebrows. "Dad, that would be impossible!""You're right," said Dad. "It would be impossible! You would have to have a perfect record, and there's nobody in the world who's lived a perfect life except Jesus. The word sin means to miss the mark, and the mark is perfection. Because we're sinners, God knew we would never be able to hit the mark ourselves--that's why He sent His perfect Son to pay the price of our sins so we wouldn't have to!"Ellis thought for a moment. "So God forgives us and accepts us because Jesus hit the mark, not because of what we have done.""Right," said Dad. "By living a perfect life and dying for our sins, Jesus hit the bulls-eye for us so we could have eternal life with Him." He nodded to the bow in Ellis's hand. "Now, let's see what else you got!"–Emily Tenter