Stray Bullet

If each of us were to take a few moments, I’m sure we could remember countless times in our lives when important things happened. I’d like to tell you about two such dates in my life 45 years apart. I was born in Wales and grew up in England. In 1957, when I as 14, we moved to Canada and I can still remember being fascinated with the adventure of packing everything our family owned into suitcases and trunks and travelling thousands of miles to a new home. After completing High School I joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. My first posting was Vancouver where I met and married my wife Norma, a beautiful Prince Edward Island girl. Because the R.C.M.P. are a national police force most members are transferred frequently, yet we had few moves. Not only did this give our family a degree of stability, it allowed me to develop meaningful relationships with other people and, in particular, those who expressed an interest in God.

Yet, while I enjoyed their company, I felt inadequate and unable to talk their "spiritual language" so was careful not to talk about work, politics, or religion. I also attended church, carefully avoiding any active, personal relationship with God. You see, the only reason why Norma and I married, established a family relationship and attended church was because of "religion" and heritage. After all, it was ‘the right thing to do’. As for talk about Jesus, sin, confession or giving your life to Christ? Well, I reasoned, "I’m a good father and husband. I know many that are worse than I am. If I’m a sinner, what about some of the folks I’ve had to deal with on the job? Compared to them I’m a Saint!" Of course, I didn’t tell people any of this-I just thought these kinds of thoughts.

Nevertheless, as we grow older, life has a way of becoming ‘Bottom Line’. Questions like, "Is there really life after life?" and, "What happens when we die?" become important issues. I’ve witnessed people die; some leave this world kicking, screaming and cursing. Others pass peacefully. After the death of Norma’s parents in the mid-1980’s, I was even more interested in answers.

One thing I had trouble with was the word SIN- until I learned the word merely means ‘missing the mark’. A target consists of a bull’s eye surrounded by rings. The rings are called sins and used to measure accuracy. Every year, as a policeman, I spent many hours in target practice. I knew that a perfect score is extremely difficult to achieve. I also knew that the difference between hitting the bull’s eye and missing the target completely was just a fraction of an inch at the muzzle of the weapon. As the bullet travels down the range, it gets further and further off target. You know what? Committing a sin is missing that bull’s eye. It isn’t a crime, but it doesn’t hit the mark either. I had to admit that there had been times in my life when I’d missed that mark.

Life is like that too. If we start out with the incorrect assumptions, it’s amazing how far we can stray-which just about describes my life. I had been walking through life so to the untrained eye everything appeared good on the surface. I attended church, even served in various leadership roles, and yet had no substance to my spiritual life.

On September 27, 1987 I responded to a call from a guest speaker in our church and asked Jesus Christ to come into my life and change me from within. My first birthday, October 14, 1942, was physical. My second birthday, September 27, 1987, was spiritual-45 years apart. It’s never too late!

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?
Living with hope

If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.
Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

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