My daughter’s
favorite superhero is Hawkeye. Although, admittedly, she thought his name was
Hawkguy until she was seven. She likes his quick wit and skills with a bow.
Unlike being bit by a radioactive spider or exposed to gamma radiation,
becoming a skilled archer is something she can actually do. I think that’s why
she likes him.
Hawkeye is
Marvel’s version of Robin Hood or Green Arrow. He’s billed as “the world’s
greatest archer” and he prides himself on his accuracy. In Avenging Spider-man #4, Hawkeye and Spidey team up to take down
some bad guys. In a candid moment, Hawkeye confesses, “I mean, I can't miss...
I'm on a team with super-humans and one god, in case you've forgotten… And if I
miss, it means I'm just another dude with a bow. It means I've been fooling
myself this whole time. And that's why I never miss.” Ironically, Hawkeye does
miss. Later in the issue, in the midst of battle, Hawkeye fires a taser-like
electrified arrow at a distant enemy and misses his target. When the battle
dies down, Spidey spots the arrow lying on the ground and, out of compassion
for Hawkeye, picks it up and tacks it into the already defeated villain. When
Hawkeye rounds the corner he celebrates, “I got ‘em! Ha! Nailed it!”
This may come
as a surprise, but the Bible talks about archery quite a bit. How, you
ask? Well, there are actual archers in
some of the war stories (King Saul met his demise to an arrow in 1 Samuel 31). Ishmael,
Abraham’s son with Hagar, was an archer (Genesis 21.20). Esau hunted with a bow
and arrow (Genesis 27). And one story involves arrows that are purposely off
target (1 Samuel 20). In all, there are over 50 references to archery, bows or
arrows in the bible. But even more than that, one interpretation of both the
Hebrew and Greek words for “sin” is to
miss the mark or to be off target—an
archery term.
Imagine a king
preparing to go to war. He calls all the archers in front of him, wanting only the
best of the best to defend of the kingdom. Thus he demands perfect accuracy. If
they miss, they are dismissed—there are no second chances. Unfortunately, even
expert archers like Hawkeye miss occasionally.
The same is
true for us. All too often, we miss the mark, and thus fall short of God’s
standard of perfection. No matter how “good” we try to be, our lives always end
up off target. Thankfully, there is one person who never missed the mark—Jesus.
He lived the perfect, sinless life that we never could. Just as Spidey gave
Hawkeye credit for his victory, when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, God
gives us credit for his perfect performance. Let’s be thankful and amazed that
God through Jesus can forgive our sins, not just once, but every time that we
miss the mark!
No comments:
Post a Comment