An experienced archer once invited his student to a demonstration. When they arrived in front of a tree, the archer took a flower and placed it on one of the branches of the tree. Then he picked up his bow and arrow and positioned himself a hundred paces away from the tree. He tied a blindfold and asked the student:
— How many times have you seen me play this sport?
— Every day, replied the disciple. And I always saw you hit the rose at a distance of three hundred paces, but never blindfolded.
Blindfolded, the archer drew his bow and fired. The arrow didn’t even hit the tree, passing away from the target, at an awkward distance.
— You missed! The disciple was astonished. I thought you wanted to show me the power of your experience!
To which the archer replied:
— Here I have given you the most important lesson about the power of thought! When you want something, focus on it: no one will ever be able to hit a target they can’t see.
Philippians 3:13-14 says: “Brothers, I do not yet consider myself as having taken hold of it; but one thing is certain: Forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things ahead, I am pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God by means of Christ Jesus.”
We should always keep the goal of eternal life in our minds and hearts and never lose sight of that goal. Only then can we win the prize. Remember: No one will ever be able to hit a target they can’t see.
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