Matt Emmons was one shot away from capturing his second gold medal and securing the lead for Team USA in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. He had a 3-point lead in the men's 50-meter, three-position rifle competition. He didn't even need a bull's eye to secure a first place finish and win the gold medal. All he had to do was hit the target near the bull's eye.
He calmly approached his final shot, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger. He was confident he'd hit the target, but when he looked up at the electronic score board, nothing appeared. Puzzled, he looked at the judges, thinking the electronic scoring device had malfunctioned. He saw the officials huddle together briefly, and then his score appeared. A zero!
Unbelievable! That couldn't be! He had taken careful aim, and he was sure he had hit the target. Suddenly, he realized what had happened. Yes, he'd hit the target, but he'd hit the wrong target. He was standing in lane 2, and had fired on the target in lane 3.
What an incredible story! He, his teammates and his opponents were in disbelief. How could he have made such a mistake? He did everything right, but he aimed at the wrong target. This extremely rare mistake in such an elite competition dropped him from first place to eighth place.
Is it possible to live our lives successfully but wrongly? Is it possible to be very good at the wrong things? Can a victorious Christian life be wasted on self-fulfillment or church growth rather than the advancement of God's kingdom? Let us pray today that we aim at the right target, the one God has set before us in His word as revealed in His Son.
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