A few months ago, I was part of a small group that decided to go skeet shooting. As a result, I now know what skeet shooting is. Mind you, this was in the greater Atlanta area and we are a bunch of city boys. It’s likely that the only guns we ever shot were shot sideways, (at paper targets of course). Needless to say, we weren’t very good. Had you been listening close by you might have heard, “Pull!… Bang! Bang! Bang!… … thud.” On the plus side, we got to practice our recycling skills. After every 50 or so shots we would run out into the field and pick up surviving clay targets that we could shoot (at) again.
But a perfect score really wasn’t the idea of the outing. Some of us were meeting each other for only the second or third time. The objective was to get to know each other, enjoy one another’s company, and just be guys. And we succeeded. We gave each other a hard time, traded tips, and pulled a few pranks. That said, we did sincerely try to hit our marks. But when we walked away, we did not walk away with a ratio at the front our minds. We did not walk away thinking, “Man, I only hit two out of ten.” Nor did we think, “Man, Jimmy only hit 1 out of 10. I probably won’t be his friend.” Instead we were thinking, “That was fun. I can’t wait to hang out with these guys again.”
I think that’s the kind of relationship God wants with us. But too often I get caught up in the fear of making mistakes. He did not send His son to die for us so that we could live in fear. Still, I’ve continued to think I have to follow the rules ever so closely lest I become distant or smote. I’ve obsessed myself with the law, because that’s what makes sense to me. It provides predictability. But the glorious truth is this; perfection is not the goal of Christian living, it is a byproduct. Pursuing holiness doesn’t bring one closer to God, pursuing God brings one closer to holiness. Christianity is about communion with God, something that He made possible for us solely because we were unable to do it ourselves. Yet this does not mean we have a free pass to abuse grace, and I doubt a true follower of Christ (a new creation) could stand to do that anyway. It simply means we are to put and seek God above all things, even our own perfection. His Holy Spirit exists to guide us. We must trust it and not guide or accuse ourselves, for we are unworthy of such a venture. What God wants most from us is our attention and affection. I must trust His grace can handle the rest.
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18
“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” Matthew 5:17
John 8:1-11