"Miss"

They asked are you a roper,

I was challenged what to say,

If they meant in a rodeo,

The answer was no way.

But ropin’ in the pasture,

Well, now that’s another thing,

And yes, I guess I’ve caught my share,

At steers my twine I’d fling.

But roping is not catching,

Might be a finer point,

Doesn’t mean I’m splitting hairs,

Or to bend things out of joint.

But missing is a fact of life,

For anyone who ropes,

But missing means your roping,

And not run out of hopes,

That if you keep on looping,

You’re better over time,

At getting those old bovine caught,

With your lariat twine.

I’ve missed ‘em in the parking lot,

And in the roping pen,

I’ve missed ‘em in the pasture,

And the woods that they were in.

I’ve missed ‘em wild and crazy,

And trying to get away,

I’ve missed ‘em when they’re sickly,

But won’t stand still or stay.

I’ve missed ‘em when I dropped my slack,

Or threw my loop too long,

I’ve missed ‘em when they ran right through,

When everything went wrong.

But then again I’ve caught ‘em,

Enough to celebrate,

When my horse worked really fine,

And the cattle he would rate.

In all kinds of places,

And for all kinds of reasons,

Done it in fair weather,

In spite of those bad seasons.

And one time at the very end,

When Dad’s last cattle sold,

I roped one as he jumped the fence,

And dragged him back controlled.

But you ask if I’m a roper,

Guess I will tell you this,

I’ve thrown my rope at quite a few,

And a few I didn’t miss.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23, NLT)

One definition of sin is that we have missed the mark. If God’s standard is His perfect will, we have all missed it. That’s the reason Jesus had to die, because even the best of us need God’s forgiveness. Some believe if the good they do outweighs the bad, God will make the tally and let them into heaven. But that is not what the Bible tells us. The scriptures say we can only be made right with God when we accept the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins. Salvation is not based upon our debits and credits, but rather on God’s grace.

Lord, help us accept Your sacrifice and learn to do Your will, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, billantonstudios.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.