Hitting the Bull's Eye

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Gal 6:9)



July 14
I think in our society, it is easy to completely miss dealing with "unconscious sin."  It was commonly dealt with in Mosaic Law amongst the Hebrews, but contemporary attitude might attribute such sin to absentmindedness, something that brings a vague unsettled feeling, not so well-defined as to call it shame, but not a happy feeling.  Still, it is a light enough burden we shrug off such "sins" as "accidents" easily enough. 

But for us to really understand the depths of redemption, we must shove these into the cleansing fountain of Christ's blood, too.  No? "Forgive them, for they know not what they do..." He reminds us we are not exempt from personal responsibility simply due to limited vision or lack of personal control. We shy away from poking around in such truths,though, mainly because they feel unjust. 
Justice, however, is a tricky thing to assess because it is always larger than our vision. I try to trace its path and ultimately I will always come to the wall of my origin.  I'm 40 years old and have never shot anything more dangerous than a BB gun, but I was born a woman in a Western culture in a pacifistic family.  Had I been born a boy in certain parts of Africa, I'd have had a gun in my hands by age 10, sent forth to kill my elders' enemies.  How much "credit" do I really deserve for not shooting anyone?  How much "responsibility" does that child bear alongside me?  Things like these demonstrate a little better the depths of redemption from Sin.  Not small "s" sin, but capital "s" Sin! 

Here's where it comes back to faith.  We read that "the just shall live by faith" for "all have sinned."  Sinned in this context is a Greek word that specifically translates as "missed the mark."  We all have "missed the mark."  Such a better statement for laying bare the need.  Really embracing Sin means I admit I can no longer hide behind my conscious choices nor behind the idea that my error was "unavoidable" nor that it was a "sacrifice for the greater good."  These may all be true; and yet the sin of it remains.  We miss the mark...intentionally...unintentionally...for whatever the reason, the arrow did NOT hit the bullseye when it went twinging away from my bow.  That is why the glorious news is so very glorious.  ALL failures are disabled from killing our hopes for life eternal with our Beloved.

These were my thoughts years ago...today, my mind is on a companion topic.  Not the same exactly, but certainly complimentary.  I think of the unclean spirit's travels found in the parable series from Matthew 12.  This spirit returns to the house (person) from whence it came; and when it returns, it finds the house empty, swept and put in order.  Legalism at its finest.  Missing the mark by falling short.  Not just emptied and scrubbed, but filled up with something new--leaving no place for the unclean spirit to inhabit, THAT would more nearly hit the mark.  Unclean here is defined as something "purposed to separate men from the worship of God." 
So I shall fill my empty house:
I will not stop with the weeping and the sweeping out of pride, but I will invite humility, too.
I will not merely order out unfaithfulness, but will bring in fealty.
I will not just cast off foolishness, but will also invite wisdom.
I will not simply lock out self-pity, but will open the door to compassion.
I will not just empty myself of selfishness, but will fill myself with kindness.
I will not only bar the door to power-mongering, but in its place will make a feast for love!