Missing It

The Greek word translated "sin" in most English translations is ἁμαρτία -- hamartia (or some form of it). It means, most literally, "to miss the mark." You know, like a target you're supposed to hit and you miss.

I gotta be honest. "Miss the mark" just doesn't sound like that big of a deal. Like, "I was shooting for a 100% on that test and only got 99%. I missed the mark." Yeah, so? In the famous words of Maxwell Smart, "Missed it by that much." How is this significant?

But you have to ask yourself, "What mark am I missing?" One person may be playing one of those games in a store where you drop that claw and try to win a prize. "Oops! Missed the mark." No big deal. Someone else might shoot for that perfect score on the final. "Oops! Missed the mark." Could be of some importance, but not too much. You could be a police officer and you're tasked with shooting someone before they kill someone else. "Oops! Missed the mark." Now, this is more serious. "In fact, I accidentally shot the victim." Now we're really getting serious. Thus, "missed the mark" changes its gravity by the significance of the mark that is missed.

So, in biblical terms, when we sin -- when we miss the mark -- what mark are we missing and how significant is it?

Paul wrote to the Romans, "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen." (Rom 11:36) To Him be glory forever. In fact, that is the primary purpose of creation. David wrote, "All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. (Psa 145:10-12) We all know, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands." (Psa 19:1) And we are commanded, "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31) To Him be glory forever. That's why it is so significant that the verse we all know -- "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23) -- lists that last phrase. Sin is falling short of the glory of God. Or, in terms of missing the mark, the mark we miss is God's glory and our proper recognition and acknowledgement of it. And that's our entire purpose here, the highest importance.

This, then, is the mark we miss. It's not small. It's not insignificant. It can't be overlooked. And the fact that we don't seem too concerned about it only makes it worse. We have "exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (Rom 1:25) If you count that as a mere "oops," a faux pas, then you have no notion of how significant this issue is. If you do see it, you can begin to see the magnitude of sin. And, consequently, the magnitude of the Gospel.