Hebrews 12:1-17

Take Aim

When I was a child my mom went to college during the summer to finish up her degree. One summer I spent the days with a family in the church who had two sons. Both boys were a littler older than me but we were close enough to enjoy playing together. One day we decided to play BB gun wars. It was the oldest son against the younger brother and me. 

I took cover behind the well pump. My partner hid in the coal bin under the back porch. The older brother got the best vantage by hiding in the outhouse. The only possible shot we had at him was through the little hole used to poke your finger in to open the door. I’m not a great shot, but I aimed and aimed for the longest time at that hole and finally fired. I thought I saw the BB fly in the hole and sure enough, if you play with those things you could put an eye out. Could, but fortunately not this time. The older brother came running out of the outhouse with a big welt right above his eyebrow. I’ll never forget it.

Almost everyone is familiar with the saying, “If you aim for nothing you’ll usually hit it.” The converse is often true as well. If you aim at something you will often hit it. 

What should we aim at? We should aim at what we see. There is no better advice than verse two. “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Looking at Jesus is always a good idea. He is the foundation of our faith and He is the One who will bring our faith to completion. Even the cross could not deter Him because He could see the great joy beyond even all of that suffering. He could see the glory beyond the shame. And for that reason He is enthroned with our faithful God. 

Take aim. Take aim. Take aim.