Experiencing God 223 On Missing The Mark

Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd;

There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud.

There’s one that’s broken hearted for his sins,

There’s one that unrepentant, sits and grins.

There’s one that love his neighbour as himself,

And one that cares for naught but fame and wealth.

From much corroding care I should be free,

If I could once determine which is me. 

Poem by Edward Martin

At the beginning of each of our church services, we say the prayer of contrition, acknowledging that we have missed the mark, we have failed to meet the standards of holiness that we know God is calling us too.

I believe we can all acknowledge that we often miss the mark; we fall short. But is it much more difficult for us to know why we do it, and then take the appropriate action to correct the inappropriate behavior. 

So I got angry at the kids and shouted at them again.  I was unkind to the lady at the supermarket.  I ate too much at the party last night and was up most of the night.  There appears to be a breakdown in communication between what I know to be correct and what I actually do. 

Sin or missing the mark is like living with a divided self. There is the inner self that knows what is right, but another self that fails to respond in the most appropriate fashion.  

In chapter seven of Romans, St. Paul explains the problem this way:

"I do not understand my own actions.  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.  I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me."

In his commentary on "Inner Conflict", St. Paul speaks at length about this divided self, how it comes about, and what to do about.  For St. Paul, the answer to the dilemma is to be found in the person of Christ and the gift of grace.  

It is not enough just to understand this intellectually.  It's not enough just to know that Jesus died for my sins; that I am forgiven.  And it is not enough to know that if I do this, I will be with Him some day in heaven.  This understanding does not resolve the problem of the split that we experience within ourselves, between what we know to be right and what we do.  We must also surrender to and experience the Grace that is able to enter this split within ourselves in order to heal the brokenness that lies there.  What is this Grace?

The word Grace means gift.  A gift is something that you do not buy.  There is no price you can put on it. This gift is just there.  It's a gift that comes from within.  Why is it there?  We don't know.  It just is.  You can call it Spirit.  You can call it love.  You can call it God.  The name is not that important. Grace is symbolic of "the power of God within us". 

St. Paul concluded his chapter seven of Romans with the following:  "Wretched man then I am.  Who will rescue me from this body of death.  Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord."

To be healed of our brokenness requires more than believing, although believing is a great place to start.  Like St. Paul, we must be open to receiving the gift of Grace, and we must surrender to it.  Grace is efficacious; that is, it effects the change within us that it symbolizes. It symbolizes the power of God within. Grace draws our Spirit in union with Christ's Spirit so that we may live a life of Grace. 

We are on a journey towards wholeness.  Grace gives us the ability to change.  Although we will continue to struggle against the forces of our false self which seem to have dominion over us, surrendering to Grace must be the refuge we seek.