Now, let's say you're an archer, and your arrow falls short of the bull's eye. What do you do? Do you throw your bow to the ground and give up? No. You take aim and try again. Taking this analogy a little further, would a good archer ever try to hit something other than the target during practice, like, say a tree, a rock, or one of the other students? No. He or she does his/her best to aim at the bull's eye and only the bull's eye.Sinning against God is also missing the mark. It is falling short, making a mistake, and revealing our imperfections. The Bible says, "...For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23), and: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." (Isaiah 64:6)
Most people I know wouldn't disagree with the above verses--at least in that everyone has made mistakes. We may disagree about how or why that happened and we may disagree as to the degree of our "lostness" or about what should be done about it, but most people agree that we are a broken people. There is something missing--a hole that needs to be filled. In fact, the inability or the refusal to admit guilt of any kind is indicative of a severe personality disorder. To be able to admit our own sinfulness is a vital part of our character, but hardly an extraordinary one. More importantly, we must decide what should be done about it... and here begins a journey.
Let me ask: Who sets the standard for good behavior? While each of us will adopt a code of behavior we endeavor to follow, none of us actually came up with it. Why is it wrong to steal or lie or gossip? Why is it wrong to commit murder or have an affair or manipulate others for our own self-interests? And, these questions naturally lead to others, such as: Why are these actions considered "wrong?" Why do I have to abide by these rules or any rules? Where did the concept of morality originate? Why is one person's concept of morality any better than another's?
Obviously, the concept of morality came from somewhere. I believe it came from a perfect and holy God. And, herein lies the problem. If there is a God who is holy and perfect and if we are flawed and imperfect, how can there be any communion between us?
Most religions of the world say something like the following: "If God (or, divine force) loves me and sees I am trying my best, He'll understand and let me into Heaven." This is the "weights and balance" argument at work. In other words, if my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds, I'll get into Heaven (or to the next life.) There are several problems with this belief system:
1. There is no commitment required from us. I don't even have to believe in a supernatural being at all. I can live my life, just doing my best, and let this be my fall-back hope for those times I start to fear death. This is why there are so many people who claim a religion but in the same breath say they are "non-practicing."
2. There is no relationship available. If I am trying hard to be good enough, all the attention is on me. A holy God? Why would He want to have anything to do with me? And why would I bother trying to have a genuine relationship with Him? I would fear He would just reject me, or make my life harder than it already is. Besides, I already know I just have to be good. It's better just to focus on that and hope for the best.
3. This is a system that promotes fear. I'm not a gambling person. I don't have the nerves for it, but I'd much rather gamble with my money or my car or my home than with my soul. When I die I want to KNOW where I'm going. I refuse to live my life in the constant fear of what is to come.
4. We make ourselves vulnerable to human manipulation. If I am afraid of death because I think I might not be good enough for whatever awaits, what do I do? I try to be as good as I can be while I can. And, if someone with clout in the religious community offers to show me how to do this more effectively, I would be inclined to follow them. This is how we end up with hyper-legalistic, religious societies that force women into submission, pressure men to perform at a ridiculous level, and ignore or abuse children. This kind of thing has gone on for a millennia and continues today, and there is nothing these people would like better than to add you and I to their number.
5. There is no assurance of salvation. No matter how hard I work, how many old ladies I escort safely through traffic, how much money I give to starving children around the world, and how many hours I donate at the local soup kitchen, I will never, never, never know for sure if it was enough.
6. It is a cosmically flawed game of comparisons. If I am worried about whether or not I'm good enough, I always have one fall-back--to find someone who I think is worse than I am. "Well," I comfort myself, "I know I'm not perfect, but I'm not nearly as bad as that guy!" We can always find someone who appears worse than we are. But is that what God is going to be doing? No. When He makes the comparisons, He's going to be comparing us with Himself--with absolute perfection. Now where do we stand?
Sin is not something we can undo. We are linear and no matter how much we would like to, we can't go back and fix our mistakes. We can pay for the thing we stole, ask forgiveness for the lie we told, and make amends the best we can for the friend we betrayed, but the past remains unaltered. The man who cheats on his wife may say, "I'm sorry," but is that enough to make it all go away? No. Our guilt is eternal and unchanging. More depressing still, no matter how hard we try to be good, we fail. Even our best efforts aren't good enough to make us worthy to enter the presence of a holy God.
Does God love me? Yes.
Does His love mean He's going to let me in? No.
Regardless of His great love for us, God still remains holy. God cannot change His character. He cannot be less than He is. He cannot align Himself with imperfection. Some people think this means God isn't good or isn't as powerful as some claim. They reason, "Well, if He is Who He says He is and if He wanted to let me in, He could." No. Why? Because of what would happen to us anyway. The Bible describes what happens when anything or anyone who isn't perfectly holy comes anywhere close to God's presence. They die. His glory would destroy us unless we are made perfectly clean and righteous first.
Sin is a very divisive thing. You've seen its destructive power in your life and in the lives of everyone around you. It humiliates, separates and destroys. Sin is catching. It is taught and it is learned. Parents pass ugly behaviors and attitudes on to their children and grandparents to their grandchildren. And sin touches the innocent. It's devastating effects spread from the one who commits the act to the victims until we shake our fists at heaven and cry out, "WHY HAVE YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!"
The Bible has this to say:
"When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15)
Sin is an incredibly dangerous disease and, unfortunately, none of us are immune to it. We have all been infected and our deaths are imminent. But that is not the end of the story. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son [Jesus] sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:34-36) (See Context.)
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