A duke was hunting in the forest with his men-at-arms and servants; he came across a tree. Upon it, archery targets were painted and smack in the middle of each was an arrow. ‘Who is this incredibly fine archer?’ cried the duke.’I must find him!’ After continuing through the forest for a few miles he came across a small boy carrying a bow and arrow. Eventually the boy admitted that it was he who shot the arrows plumb in the center of all the targets. ‘You didn’t just walk up to the targets and hammer the arrows into the middle, did you?’ asked the duke worriedly. ‘No my lord. I shot them from a hundred paces. I swear it by all that I hold holy.’ ‘That is truly astonishing,’ said the duke. ‘I hereby admit you into my service.’ The boy thanked him profusely. ‘But I must ask one favor in return,’ the duke continued. ‘You must tell me how you came to be such an outstanding shot.’ ‘Well,’ said the boy, ‘first I fire the arrow at the tree, and then I paint the target around it.’
Drawn to joy
Movies often portray Christ as being serious and somber, but many people—children, sinners, the rich, the poor—loved being around Jesus. The only people who did not enjoy Jesus were the inauthentic, self-righteous, religious people. Everyone else was drawn to Jesus because he was enjoyable to be around. He exuded life, energy, peace, and joy.
Focus on your destination
An experienced quilter realizes that quilting is much more accurate if the eye is on where the needle should go, not on the needle, even though it is fascinating to watch perfectly formed stitches being created. Also in marksmanship, you need to keep your eye on the target, not the arrow. It is the same in the spiritual life. Dedicated holy people, such as Mother Teresa, kept their eyes on God, not their own footsteps, successes or failures. By continuing that way, we can survive the challenges of life and our hearts will be enlightened.
When we have a wider perspective, we realize the insignificance of our problems —for example, we’ll never remember how much the price of gas has risen. And if our problems are more painful (like divorce, sick children, cancer), we have more reason to recognize that God and his purposes prevail. It is possible that our grandparents understood this because they didn’t expect to have as much as we do today. My grandmother often talked about being reunited in heaven with relatives “already there.” When we live for eternity, our difficulties won’t weigh us down until we reach an imaginary place of trouble-free living. There is a joyful purpose when we travel light by keeping our eternal destination in sight.
The target
What is the direction of your affections and thoughts? Whatever excites you most—be it sports, music, food, traveling or spending time with family—should dim compared to how passionate you are about God. He is the source of true life, energy, peace, and joy.
Arrow sign
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