Long-term goals are a good way to plan our lives.
Where do we want to be in a year, five years, or ten? How about twenty or thirty years down the line?
We need long-term goals, because setbacks will happen. Jobs evaporate, sickness befalls us, and there are always car repairs. We can’t get sidetracked, or we’ll never make our destination.
We must be determined to succeed, no matter the effort it takes or the time we spend. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth pursuing at all costs.
God’s long-term goal is to draw all men unto repentance. Simply put, God desires humanity (you and me) to up our standards and live our lives by the example of his Son, Jesus. He wants us to be kind, generous, and to put others first.
We can only achieve that goal when we do an about face from our self-centered preoccupation with ourselves. We call our about face salvation.
Here’s how it started two millennia ago:
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
God’s plan is still in place, even if the world is blind to it:
1 John 3:1 tells us, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
Our goals and long-term plans come from the Bible:
2 Peter 1:21 assures us, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
We must structure our lives by God’s standards:
2 Timothy 3:17 explains, “That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
Our strategy for preparation is already laid out:
2 Timothy 3:16 reveals how to equip ourselves for success in Christ. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
Coming to Christ is more than repentance and forgiveness. It also involves planning, preparation, and a life of determination that we will succeed in our walk with Jesus. When we learn to live like him, we will become like him, and our lives will be forever changed.
When we come to Christ, it’s the people around us who benefit the most from the love and compassion that flows from us.
Copyright © 2017 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.05.17.vp.esv