Like so many things in our competitive family, shooting the ol’ knuckle-buster 22 became a contest. Oh sure, there was no way to properly keep score, but each of the cousins was determined to outshoot the others. Meanwhile, a couple of moms nervously waited until the 2 boxes of 22 shorts were used up. Uncle Phil was trying to make things fair so that each cousin had the same number of shots. At the same time, he was trying to make sure they were learning the key issues of safety when handling and firing a pistol.

    In order to outshine their fellow cousins in this undeclared contest, each of them had to declare what they were going to shoot. It might be a branch, a plastic pop bottle, a scrap of paper, a Styrofoam cup, or some other bit of trash that had washed up on the opposite creek bank from the nearby interstate highway. One of the cousins would cry out, “Whatcha aimin’ for?” before each shot. The shooter had to declare his or her target and then take a shot.

    No matter how you feel about guns and gun safety, that question is a crucial one for you. “Whatcha aimin’ for?” Yeah, I know it is not proper grammar nor are the words really found in the dictionary, but it’s a question you really need to ask yourself: “Whatcha aimin’ for?” You see, if you are aiming at nothing with your life, I can pretty much assure you that you will hit your target!

    The apostle Paul was very clear that he had two specific targets in mind when he worked with new Christians:

So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. (2 Corinthians 5:9 NLT)

So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. (Romans 14:19 NLT)

Paul had two specific targets in mind when he worked with new Christians.

    He wanted Jesus’ disciples to understand that their targets in life were very specific: you want to please Jesus with your life no matter what happens to you or where you are and you want live in harmony with Jesus’ disciples!

    Sounds a lot like what Jesus said, doesn’t it? When asked what was most important, Jesus answered:

”‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT)