With these words, the apostle Paul stresses the importance of a Christian setting and working toward the right goals in his life.
The truth is, everyone needs goals. Nothing worthwhile is ever accomplished by the person who does not set worthy objectives in his life. Someone once made this observation, "Too many people aim at nothing in life, and hit it with amazing accuracy." Life without a goal is like a ship without a rudder, or a car with no steering wheel.
However, we must, in our selection of goals, be sure that the goal we choose is worthy. There is nothing wrong with becoming the greatest baton twirler or yo-yo spinner in the world. But it is hardly worthy of a Christian's time to spend his whole life in such trivial activity.
Then, too, goals can be totally wrong for us. King Saul set as a goal to destroy his young friend, David. Judas determined in his heart to betray his master, Jesus, for 30 pieces of silver. These, clearly, are goals, but they take people in the wrong direction.
Of course, the ultimate goal of every Christian's life should be eternal life in heaven. Accordingly, in the words of Jesus (Matthew 6:19-21), we "lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. But at times this ultimate goal can seem so remote that it is impossible to achieve. It is then we need to break down the main goal into more immediate parts that are more readily attainable.
It is in this light that Peter (II Peter 5:5-7) talks about adding to our Christian faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. These Christian graces, added one at a time to our lives, bring us closer to that ultimate goal of Christian character that will equip us for that final Christian home of heaven.
But even these secondary goals can feel so remote that, at times, we feel we can never arrive at these worthy qualities in our lives. Perhaps a look at Matthew 25:35-37 will offer more immediate goals that can be attained each day in the Christian's life. Goals like feeding the hungry, visiting the sick or imprisoned, are real, immediate and attainable, and if adopted, they will lead us, in time, to our ultimate goal of eternal life with God in heaven.
Churches also need to set goals. They may be attendance goals, financial objectives, bringing friends or family on a set day or different ways to encourage growth, both collective and individual. People feel a great sense of accomplishment when they reach worthy goals.
So, set yourself some worthwhile goals this week, then go to work achieving them.
Bob Davison is a pastor at Allison Avenue Church of Christ.