Complimentary Story
March 20221 Peter 1:8-9 (Christian Standard Bible), “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him, and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Goals are a funny thing. They are rather inert, in and of themselves. Like money, they are neither good or bad; but the love of them can be either faith or idolatry. The very word itself defines something not yet attained, but very much desired. Something we have not been able to achieve before, but in our hearts and minds, believe is worth reaching toward. Goals represent faith because we have to have a certain amount of hope and belief that they are achievable, although not yet realized. Goals can be idolatrous; capturing the whole of our heart, time, and resources. Goals are a funny thing.
I started a new career as a Realtor at the age of 50. I have goals for my career. I have thoughtfully and prayerfully set these goals. Some of them are financial, some relational, some big, some small. These goals may be good or bad in the eyes of God. The purity of a goal is matched by the purity of the heart of the one who makes them. So let’s ask ourselves two questions, friends. How is our heart? And who makes our goals?
In the verses above from 1 Peter, we read that our early Church brothers were receiving the “goal” of their faith...the salvation of their souls. This goal of salvation is not their initial moment of being “saved” and coming into the Kingdom. No, this passage was written to believers, already saved. This salvation is the sanctifying work of Christ that continues to be at work in us and save us from the desires of the world and the desires of our former darkened hearts. This is the sanctifying salvation of the Lord. And we are told here...the goal of our faith. A lofty goal to be sure; to continue to be purified and cleansed to become more and more like Christ. It almost seems unattainable. Who would even set such a goal for themselves?
And this, my friends, is where we go back to our two questions...How is our heart? And who makes our goals? This goal, the salvation of our souls, is set by God for us. His heart toward us is good and His desires for us are good. We may have a hard time believing it is achievable or picturing it in our mind’s eye; that is precisely why God set this goal for us and didn’t wait for it to set it for ourselves. It is important to understand that this is a goal, set up for us by God, that His good heart desires for us. This is a goal founded on faith.
This faith is not solely the faith of our initial salvation. This goal, this faith, is much larger...the ongoing salvation of our souls — the miraculous purifying work that the Lord continues to do in our lives as we walk with Him and talk with Him and obey the sweet soft voice of His Holy Spirit.
If our goals are set by us and not the Lord, we may fall short of all He desires for us to have and to achieve. For example, many of us came into the Kingdom simply desiring a ticket to Heaven, the assurance that we would be saved from hell. But God has much greater goals for us than we have for ourselves. His heart is not to save us from hell, but to bring us fully into His Kingdom; to open up His treasure bins and transform us, redeem us, bless us, restore us, gift us, and use us for His purposes.
What God offers us in verse 9 is not just a ticket to Heaven, but the joy and promise of sanctification. He sets this goal for us. And even if I only want a ticket to heaven, God wants more for me. What I want doesn’t change what God wants for me. The goals I set for myself don’t change the goals God sets for me.
And we must remember that His heart toward us is good. A good heart makes good goals. Although our sanctification is not yet fully attained, and therefore still a goal, it is greatly desired. Who desires it? Hopefully we each desire to let God have His ongoing way in our lives as He lovingly transforms us; but the One who set the goal desires it the most...our Lord. God desires for us to achieve the goal of our salvation.
Will we embrace this goal? Can we join with our loving God in the good goal He has set for us to pursue our ongoing transformation with Him? We might think we are not capable of achieving this goal, and in a sense that is true; but God set this goal for us because He knows His abilities. He is able to bring us to this place and make the unseen, seen. He is able to do beyond what we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).
This goal of our faith is achievable and attainable, not because of who we are, but because of who God is. Even if I only want a ticket to heaven, God wants more for me. What I want for myself will never change what God wants for me. Hallelujah!
Chris McMahan, ‘Tea-vangelist’
Tea4Jesus.com
Email:
happy1970@icloud.com
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