Did You Know?

During the third and fourth centuries, it became customary for men living in the area we now know as Germany, to disarm themselves before entering a church building and worshipping the Lord. Most of these weapons were simple, wooden clubs which were effective as protection against robbers or wild animals. In time, the Christ-followers developed a game using these wooden clubs. After corporate worship was over, the clubs standing at the back of the sanctuary would be taken outside and placed together in a rectangle. Round stones would then be used to roll at the clubs and the more pins one knocked over, the more sins a person supposedly left behind during worship. This game eventually became more organized and intentional. In time, knocking down sins became a favorite past-time on Sunday afternoons. By the early 1500's, nine-pin bowling had become so popular that it grew beyond the church "parking lot" and found it's way into taverns and inns as a sport people would bet upon. Many say that this fun activity became Martin Luther's favorite sport and he loved the symbolism associated with Christians becoming "holy bowlers."
By the time bowling made it's way to the United States, it lost all it's association with Christianity and became a favorite sport for gamblers to bet upon. As a result, many local and state legislatures passed laws outlawing 'nine pin' bowling as a sport. But, some bright entrepeneur circumvented that legislation by replacing nine-pin bowling in a rectangle, with ten-pin bowling using a triangle. And now, you know, "the rest of the story."
Of course, we also know that sins can never be symbolically "bowled over" by knocking some wooden pins down with a bowling ball. Sins are forgotten and forgiven by a gracious God who knocked our sins over when He accepted the blood of His Son as a substitute for the sins we've committed (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17; Psalm 103:11&12). Are there sins we need to confess to the Lord and turn our hearts, minds, and lives away from so that we can be more in favor with God (I John 1:9)? It's really not a game to do so. It's a blessing made possible only by God's grace. What's keeping you from God's forgiveness?