Missing the Mark

Sin (shame-inside-needlessly)…

In some cases, the church has done a number on us by bludgeoning us with sin, such that we feel unworthy the cast an upward glance toward heaven. To make matters worse, we have an adversarial “gremlin” continually whispering accusing lies into our mind, feeding our self-loathing and feelings of not being “good enough”.  But God did not intend for us to bathe in shame, rather when we sin, He wants us to feel convicted enough to return to Him in full intimacy.

The Greek definition of sin is “to miss the mark” or my favorite definition “to miss the fullness of God.” So, to live a “sinful life” is to live outside the fullness of God, missing the vastness of His love, void of the heart-expanding joy of being intimate with God.  As a father myself, I get it.  When my children make choices that I believe will bring hurt and sorrow into their life, I hurt too.  I don’t get mad or wish to make them feel shameful…rather I ache for them to pass quickly through their painful periods, so they can learn what they need to learn and return to a place of peace and happiness. I believe God feels the same way when we “miss the mark”. The “mark” is a place of deep & abiding love, a place of inner-peace, a place of joy.

When we miss the “mark” (sin), we know it.  Unless our conscience is “past feeling”, when we sin, we will feel a level of emotional pain or discomfort. Pain is God’s way to indicate to us that something is not right, that something needs attention and needs to change. It is not a time to downward spiral into shame, but to realign with Truth, with Love & with the fullness of God.

Jesus Christ blessed mankind with the atonement (at-one-ment).  He lived and died to bridge the separation sin creates between man and God…between a loving Father and His children.  Jesus lived to exemplify the way of Love and to model true intimacy with our Father.  Jesus died to fully satisfy the penalties exacted by the sins of mankind.  Paid in full, eternally.  All that is required of us is to accept God’s love-gift of atonement and to return to Him in intimate fellowship.