Hitting the Bullseye: Why We Need Jesus to Get Close to God

Falling Short of the Bullseye

Have you ever tried to hit a bullseye and just kept falling short? There's actually a Bible verse about falling short — but it's not talking about bows and arrows. It's talking about something far more important: our relationship with God.

Our verse today comes from Romans 3:23–24:

All have sinned and fall short of God's glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve. And because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.

What this verse is telling us is that none of us are good enough on our own to be near God. But God sent Jesus to pay the price for us so that we can be with Him. The only way we can do this is through Jesus. There's nothing else we could possibly do to get close to God without Him.

Good Things and Bad Things

Imagine a target where the bullseye represents God. Now think about your week. Maybe you've done lots of good things — you checked on a friend, you prayed with someone, you helped make food, you made your bed, you pitched in around the house. Those are wonderful things!

But if we're honest, we've also done some not-so-great things along the way. Maybe we got frustrated and angry at someone. Maybe we were a bit proud. Maybe we ate the last cookie when we should have left it for someone else.

So we've got a mix — some good spots and some bad spots. Can we hit the bullseye and get close to God like that?

No. We fall short.

More Good Deeds Won't Fix It

Here's the thing that surprises a lot of people: even if we had more good spots than bad spots, it wouldn't change the result. You can do a million good things — which is great — but all of us at some point will make a mistake and do the wrong thing. That's what we call sin. And that straightaway means we can't be near God on our own strength.

This isn't about keeping score. It's not about outweighing the bad with the good. One stain is enough to keep us from the holiness of God.

Jesus Covers It All

But here's the good news — the best news. When we have Jesus in our lives and we say sorry to God, Jesus covers all our mistakes and all our sins. Every single one. It's like putting on a fresh, clean covering over all those marks and stains.

And when Jesus covers us, suddenly we can get so much closer to God — right to the bullseye. Not because we earned it, but because Jesus made the way for us.

That's grace. God treats us so much better than we deserve.

A Prayer of Thanks

Let's talk to God and thank Him for Jesus, and ask Him to continue to help us every day.

Dear Heavenly Father, we want to praise and thank you for Jesus. Thank you that you sent your Son to cover all our mistakes and our sins just so we can be close to you. God, we are really sorry when we make mistakes and do the wrong thing. Please forgive us for those times.

Thank you that Jesus can be a part of our lives just by asking. We ask that He is part of our lives today and through the weeks to come — that you'll be journeying with us, helping us do the right thing, and reminding us just how close we can be to you through Jesus.

We thank you for these things and we pray them in your name. Amen.