Spiritual lessons from Archery

[ChiefStingingArrow]

I am a pastor and sometime back I took some arrows to church with me to help illustrate a spiritual truth....It is impossible to get a perfectly straight wooden arrow shaft...and in life we are not perfect, we are reminded often how human we really are. But the amazing thing about God is that his love acts like feathers on the shaft we call life. But the most beautiful thing about an arrow is the moment it is realesed.....how it wraps around the handle and with the aid of the feathers it can fly straight and true....often times in our lives it is when the greatest amount of preasure is put on us that we bend the most...and if we dont have the love of God we fly off and we find ourselves always missing in live. But what a beautiful thing it is to have the love of God to stabalize and help us fly true in life.

What spiritual lessons have you learned from Archery?

[bornagainbowhunter]

I read my Bible a lot while stand hunting.  I have learned to listen.  Not as easy as it sounds.

[South MS Bowhunter]

That words are like arrows once released you can’t get them back!

[Chad Orde]

Yes great way to put The Lord into archery. He is the great straight walker, the first and only that could walk this earth and not sin with all the same temptations we have as man.

[Stumpkiller]

“As Unto the bow the the cord is,
So unto the man is woman;
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him , yet she follows:
Useless each without the other.”

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  

The bow is spiritual without being religious.  I like that.  My shooting is always a time of quiet meditation.  Clear the mind and focus on the target.  I find a similar approach to faith.  You are more apt to experience God's presense when you quit talking and learn to listen.

[Tradcat]

The original biblical description of sin in God's Holy Word, is the picture of an archer missing the target and falling short.
 Jesus Christ is the perfect archer who hits the bullseye of God's target every time for us if we accept his perfect shot for our inability to do so...that is the gospel from an archery point of view. The question is this...on judgment day do you want hand God your scorecard or Christ's ?

[Archie]

The Bible says children are arrows in our quiver...

We prepare an end that does battle (tip), and an end that submits to authority (nock).  

We must be careful not to put too much pressure (heavy draw weight) on an underspined arrow, or it will always result in a miss, a bad hit, or in the worst of cases, a broken arrow.  The force of the bow (parent) must be properly matched to the arrow (child), whether stiff or weak.  Practice under controlled circumstances (targets, 3D) also helps us to work on our aim and release mechanics.  These are situations where we send that arrow out but know we are going to get it back again.

Those arrows can "do business" in places that we could never reach ourselves.  Our job is to do our best to sharpen them and aim them as best as possible.

While fancy fletching and cresting makes them look nice, it really doesn't do much for the "business" of that arrow.  The prettiness brings compliments to the archer (parent), but truth be told, the integrity of that shaft is much more important than its paint job.

In a lot of cases, an arrow only gets shot once... a lot of people wish they could go back and do a lot of things over with respect to their children.

And imagine how silly it would be to waste our arrows shooting at the clouds, or shoot judos at elk.  It is so important to decide wisely as to what to prepare our children for, and where to aim them.

[Bob4st]

Archie... I like that... I'd like to save it to share with some parents I work with if it's ok with you...
Thanks...

[BowDiddle]

Very good post.

I often tell folks, that my archery mirrors my life.

Whether in my life, or in my archery - The more dedicated I am to being a straight shooter, the straighter I will shoot, and the more accurate I will be. The more I endeavor for either, the easier it becomes. I will never be perfect in either, and there in lies your feather analogy/comparison.

The less dedicated I am, well then, the more difficult things become.

[BDann]

I've used archery in family devotions before, pretty much in the same way that Archie stated it.  

Once the child (arrow) is released, it needs stabilizing factors in order to hit the chosen target. Love for God is most important, good relationships with family, and friends that share your values help give stability in flight.

Pick the target before you release that arrow, and remember to aim small.