No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. (1 John 3:6)
Expanded Passage: 1 John 3:6
I’d like to say I was a natural at trap shooting—but that would be stretching the truth like saltwater taffy. My friend and instructor, John, gave me a few pointers while setting up the clay pigeon thrower. One stood out: “As you are holding the shotgun, point to where you want it to go with your forefinger. Whatever you point at is what you’ll hit.” For whatever reason, it didn’t feel that simple for me, but I did manage to clip a few clay pigeons nonetheless.
Experiencing victory over sin in our lives requires focusing our attention on the right goal. The goal is not to be sinless for the sake of being sinless. The goal is to know and see Jesus. When we become Christians but continue to sin, we prove that we are not focused on God. Fixing our eyes and our hearts on Jesus sets us on a long path of healing from the wounds and scars of sin in our lives.
When our relationship with Jesus becomes the most important part of our life, sin begins to lose its appeal. Grounding our lives in Jesus means that sin has no place to take root. They say when you aim at nothing, you’ll hit nothing. Spiritually speaking, aim at Jesus and see what he can do with a life focused on him.
Focus on Jesus and you won’t waste time focusing on sin.
Chris McFadden is pastor of Cherry Street Wesleyan in Ottawa, Kansas. He is married to his beautiful wife Suzanne and has two wonderful daughters.
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
