08.30.04

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. - Colossians 3:1-2.

Matthew Emmons began target shooting when he was 14-years-old and going into the Olympics in Athens he was thought to be the favorite to win a gold medal. However, something happened to Matthew that had never happened to him before in his six years of international shooting. What happened was that he shot at the wrong target! All he had to do to win the gold was to hit his target and he would win the medal. If Emmons would have only looked through his scope at the number above the target he would have realized he was aiming at another shooter’s target. Because of his error, he dropped from first to eighth with no chance of even winning a bronze medal. Emmons said about his mistake, "I didn't look at the number above the target before the last shot. I usually always look at the number first and then drop down to the target. I was just working on calming myself down and getting a good shot off. I should have looked."

Matthew Emmons will hopefully come back to try again at the next Olympics to win the gold. It is of course a horrendous thing to be that close to your goal and to make a mistake losing all that you have worked so hard to obtain. Matthew failed to win because he was focused on the wrong target. He hit what he aimed at which was the target belonging to someone else. If he had only aimed at the right target, he would have hit it.

The living of the Christian life has much to do with our focus. Is our focus on the wrong thing? The wrong target? If we are focused on the things of this world and how we can gratify ourselves with those things most likely we will be living our lives in the gutter. If we are only concerned with what is best for ourselves and constantly try to do, what is best for ourselves without any concern for those around us or of all what our Lord wants we will find the Christian life to be very hard to live. If we are focused on the opposite of what Christ wants in our lives, we will find life to be very difficult with things becoming progressively worse for us.

How can we live the Christian life in a way that is pleasing to our Lord? The apostle Paul makes this very clear for us. We must put our focus on the right target. We must focus in on the things of God, of what is good and right, of what brings glory to our Lord. Paul says, "Set your mind on things above…." In other words, get your mind and life out of the gutter. Paul also tells us not to even think about the evil things of this world (Romans 13:14). He also tells us some things that we ought to think about instead, "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things (Philippians 4:8)."

What target are you aiming at? Are you aiming at what the world, the flesh, and the devil wants? Or, are you aiming, focusing, and setting your mind upon "things above"?

Remember, you will hit the target you are aiming to hit.