Today I participated in my very first archery competition. I have only been shooting for a couple of months, but I was anxious to get out there and see what I could accomplish against guys that had been shooting much longer than I have. The target was a steel buck, literally a steel buck silhouette and a four-inch by four-inch square cut-away where a “kill” shot would be on a real deer. A target is placed behind the hole to stop any arrows that go through that little square. If you miss the square, you never get to shoot that arrow again because it hits the steel buck and destroys your arrow. (Great incentive to be accurate and for the sporting good store that sponsors the competition!) I experienced my first miss in round two at 35 yards. OUCH!!  When you hear your own arrow hit that steel and you realize that you have missed the mark, your stomach sinks, your heartbeat escalates and you feel more pressure in the next shot. It is interesting that we get the term “sin” from archery. It literally means to miss the mark.  I experienced that three times before finishing third place in that competition.

What happens to your arrow when you "sin" in a steel buck competition.


When you miss the mark or “sin” in a steel buck archery competition, you ruin your arrows, but even worse than that is when you “sin” in life. How do you know if you have missed the mark? Judge for yourself using the 10 commandments! Have you ever told a lie? I don’t really have to ask you if it was right or wrong, do I? You know that it was wrong. God says that he has written his law on your conscience. You know that murder is wrong, that stealing is wrong, and that lusting is wrong. No one has to tell you those things. The Bible tells us that, because you have missed the mark of what your conscience (and God’s Word) told you to do, there will be a consequence. Like the arrow that missed the mark and paid the price, you, too, will have to pay a price one day. When you are judged by the steel-hard truth of God’s perfect law, you will be found to have missed the mark.  Are you ready to answer to God for your SIN?  To find out, why not take the “Are You a Good Person” test to learn more.