Stopping Short – Missing The Mark
Religion tends to view “sin” as acts that are really nasty or really noxiously rebellious or destructive to others, while readily justifying and excusing 
ourselves from stopping short of the fullness of the purpose and plan of God for our individual lives. An individual stopping short of the Lord’s design for his/her life does not bring forth the glory of God, as intended, in that person’s lifestyle in their lifetime. Accepting Jesus as Savior just to get the heaven-or-hell issue taken care of does not, altogether, necessarily solve the “stopping short” or “missing the mark” issue. Teachers typically give the definition of “sin” as “missing the mark”. Often, they will use a target and bow and arrow as a very good illustration. But not only is it possible to miss the bullseye by hitting to the right or left of it, it is also possible to “miss the mark” by not pulling back sufficiently on the bowstring to get the arrow to the target, thereby, causing the arrow to fall short. An inadequate or inappropriate attempt will “stop short”.
(This is the fourth excerpt from Marty’s article “Don’t Stop Short” which was published in SEEC Magazine. More excerpts will be posted Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Previous excerpts may be read by scrolling down this page.)
martygabler 