Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Patrick Miller. There are moments when the Bible sobers us with its seriousness

about sin. I say that because these days sin is a word we hardly even use and when we

do we're usually talking about a chocolate dessert.

Any other use of sin sounds kind of churchy like a word from a different generation.

The word sin simply means missing the mark.

Think about an archer who's aiming for a bull's eye

and misses the entire target.

That is sin.

But when you hear that, you might be tempted to think

that God has given us very narrow latitude in this life. We have to shoot

exactly straight or else faces wrath. But again that actually misses the point.

Hitting the target isn't doing some exactly correct behavior in every situation.

The target that God has set before you is a blessed life.

A life that's characterized by wholeness, chalone, relational depth, love, connectedness, purity, justice, goodness,

joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and hope.

The target that God has set before you is the life that you were meant to live. The life that sin wrecks.

So if we think about that Archer again, it's as though God has put him on a beautiful beach at sunset.

The sun is reflecting over the top of the water.

And God says,

aim at this wonderful ocean, hit anywhere

and you'll be doing just fine.

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