Don’t move the bullseye. Let the Spirit enable you to hit it!
The little girl in the comic shot an arrow toward her yard’s all white fence. After putting down her bow, she ran toward the fence and proceeded to paint a red bullseye around where the arrow entered the fence and then two red circles proceeding outward.
I can only guess at the writer’s point, but it was dead on when it comes to Western Christianity, let alone culture. We love to lower God’s standard of holiness thinking we’re freeing ourselves from God’s constraints in order to reduce our guilt in the hopes of living happier lives.
Yes, God’s standards are high. Yet, reality continually shows that living up to higher standards actually makes us feel better than does living down to lower ones. Think about it. How do you feel when you’ve earned something rather than when you’re patted on the head and given something you know you didn’t earn? Achievement helps not hurts, though it may hurt to achieve it.
Yes, God’s standards are high, which is why He knew way back in Genesis 3 He’d have to send Jesus to meet them for us! Yet, if the mark of holiness can be lowered, why not lower it to non-existence? And if that happened, Jesus didn’t need to come at all!
Yes, God’s standards are high. Yet, Jesus met those standards for us. He is also making us into those standards, holiness. Don’t move the bullseye. Hit it in the Spirit’s power! As you do, you’ll be ready for Jesus’ return.