Even at age 10 my brother, Rick, was dangerously overconfident in himself. Most thought he was joking when he had 4-year-old Jimmy Burnet stand against the garage door so he could shoot an arrow over his head. Jimmy cooperated while the rest of us kids anxiously watched on. No one believed Rick would actually follow through with such a foolish dare. To our surprise, he pulled back on his bow, focused carefully on his target and then let the arrow rip from his puny fingers. Within seconds a small spear stuck out of the garage door only a fraction of an inch above Jimmy’s spinning head. The bewildered boy turned a whiter shade of pale after seeing the close call on his young life. Had my brother missed the mark, even by a fraction, the result could have been fatal.

The word used for sin in our Bible comes from an archery term meaning ”to miss the mark.” If you happen to play darts, your mark is that little red dot in the center of the target. If you have ever missed the bull’s eye, even just once, guess what? You’re guilty of sin! This is why religion cannot save anyone. Even in our feeble attempts to do good we miss the mark. With all the various Christian denominations we have today, it is easy to conclude that no one is truly on target. Man’s aim is not steady enough to reverse the curse of death; we only add sin upon sin if we think so. We have but one hope – God! Only He can save us from our wretched condition.

 Excerpt from 'That I May Know You' 2008