Goals. Without them life would be a jumbled mess of indiscriminate chaos. One of my favorite sayings is “if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” True indeed. Without any direction for your future where do you go? It seems this is a big problem in our world today, many people, lacking any goals, are simply heading nowhere. Goals define us, our lives, and well, where we hope to go in our tomorrows. There is a very nice little acronym for aiding you in setting goals called “S.M.A.R.T.” As you set goals in life they should be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound. But as I work with young people, I see one common faux pas in setting goals. Maybe you have a passion for Saturn, and you set a goal to step foot on that ringed heavenly body by 2029. That’s a very ambitious goal, yes, but very unrealistic and therefore, very unattainable.
But there is one goal in the life of every Christ follower that fills our tomorrows. A goal that is inevitable but unfortunately constantly just beyond our grasp. A goal that is not just recommended but commanded by our Savior Jesus Christ. The goal? To become like Jesus. A truly unobtainable goal, yet all the same, a goal that should consume our lives. So the question is, in a world of setting and achieving goals, how do you constantly reach for that which cannot be reached?
Welcome to the book of 2 Samuel. Saul is dead, and David will soon become king. After a tumultuous spin in the book of 1 Samuel, we will start to see some sanity return to the kingdom of Israel. But even with David running the show, the kingdom will not be void of sin, debauchery, adultery, and murder. Which brings up a great point. The life of David. David probably gets some of the roughest treatment and analysis of any figure in God’s Word. And it all comes back to one single verse. A verse given by God and delivered by the prophet Samuel directly to king Saul:
“But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of His people” 1 Sam 13:14a
The reason David’s life gets the microscope treatment? Well, he is one of the only figures in scripture that we are told, “had a heart as of the Lord.” The problem is that I think most people mistakenly read this verse as, “David had a heart as of the Lord…and was therefore perfect in every way.” Not quite. David was a man. David was a sinner. David struggled with the battle between his flesh and his spirit. A spirit that loved the Lord greatly. He did indeed have a heart after the Lord, but he was also a mere human that inherited a sin nature. David’s life was riddled with sin as proof. He took two wives which even in the O.T., was not condoned by God. David, lied to the priest Ahimelech, causing the priest's murder and the death of all other priests in the village. David denied God and fled to the Philistines, even willing to fight for them against God’s own people. And of course, the one David is famous for, He lusted after Bathsheba. His lust even driving him to have her husband killed in battle. For a man that had a heart after God’s own, this list seems rather, well, unforgivable. How can a man after God’s own heart fail and fall into sin…ever? I guess you could say it all lies in your interpretation of attainable.
So how do you truly strive to be more like Jesus today, when it is an unobtainable goal? Yes, you will fall. Yes, you will stumble. Yes, you in your weak moments, will not be a good example of Christ. But does that mean you give up the fight for the unobtainable. No, it merely means that as you chase after Christ, you’ll have a lot of getting up to do. You see, it’s not how many times you fall into sin, but how many times you rise up, repent, and move beyond it.
In fact, I believe that might be one of the best definitions of David’s heart. He never, and I mean never, stopped chasing after God. He never stopped reaching for what he knew he could never grasp. David lived a life that chased after the commands of the Lord, never expecting perfection, only progress. David lived a life that enveloped and embraced humility, reverence, and respect for God. When he fell short, he got back up. He looked at God with trust, love, and devotion and when he fell short, he got back up. David was obedient and faithful to God, and when his flesh took control, he dusted himself off and got back up. And folks, above all of this, David knew the importance of repentance. When he fell into sin, he recognized it, admitted it, and fled from it. He knew the absolute importance of getting right with God as quickly as he possibly could. You might find your sin inching you away from God today, the quicker you realize it and correct your path, the better you will be.
Today as a follower of Jesus, you will be living under a microscope alongside David. The world will expect you to be living the unobtainable. The people all around you will be expecting you to live the perfect life of Jesus. A life that is unreachable. But just because it is unreachable doesn’t mean you are exempt from the struggle of the pursuit.
Live a life today that is filled with humility, reverence, and respect for Almighty God. When you fail, get back up. Today, embrace God and others with unconditional love and respect. You will fall, get back up. And folks, most of all, as you fall into sin, dump it quickly. Flee from sin as a deer flees from the hunter. Turn from that sin quickly and repent. Confess it to God and ask His forgiveness. It’s between you and God, but it must be dealt with to continue onward in your journey with Christ.
To have a heart for God means to never give up on the goal He has for us. To daily become more like His precious Son, Jesus Christ. The journey will be long, hard, and arduous, but you must not give up. You are reaching for the unreachable. But in the glory of Jesus, He rewards those that treasure the pursuit…with a heart that beats for Him.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
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