I remember this old Gatorade commercial about wanting to “be like Mike.” Every young basketball player from the 1990’s and early 2000’s, myself included, wanted to be like Michael Jordan. It’s a great jingle and makes for a great commercial, but it is not a great goal for most people. Very few have what it takes to become an elite NBA player. However, setting smaller goals that build towards the dream goal can take you further than you might think, even if it’s not to the NBA.
Since it is the beginning of the year, I think it is good to come back to the foundational purpose for gathering as LOFT youth group and build some goals for 2024. LOFT is about Loving God, Caring for Others, and Communicating His Word to the world. Love, Care, and Communicate is the DNA of our church and our group. It’s not because we want to be like Mike, but we want to be like Jesus.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus and exhorted them with these words:
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:17–24).
Paul is clear to say that things need to change. He does not focus on health, wealth, relationships, and academics, he focuses on the spiritual life. He instructs us to put on the new self that mirrors the likeness of God, which means to be more like Jesus. It is clear from his list that there are attitudes and actions that are inconsistent with the faith. We learn this by learning about Jesus Christ. The truth is in Jesus.
So let’s back up into Luke 2 to consider the life of Jesus, how he grew, and why he came, in order set a pattern for us as we consider goals for 2024.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Little is known about the childhood of Jesus. The biblical account begins with his birth and dedication as a baby, then the wisemen visit while Jesus was under 2 years old, then Jesus in the temple at the age of 12, but then we hear nothing until Jesus is 30 years old. That does not mean what the Bible says about his childhood isn’t important or impactful. Luke 2:52 is an excellent verse to model personal development.
Jesus increased in wisdom…Be like Jesus in 2024 and seek to grow in wisdom. Set goals for your schoolwork, not to just get it done and get a grade, but to grow in wisdom and understanding of God’s world revealed through academics. Read good books. Talk to wise people. Increase in your wisdom.
Jesus increased in stature…Be like Jesus by growing physically. Take care of your body. Eat healthier, drink more water, get more rest.
Jesus increased in favor with God…Be like Jesus and grow in your Love for God. Spend time with Jesus by reading his Word. Be committed to church and youth group so you can build deeper relationships with God’s people. Remove things that distract you from growing I your love for God.
Jesus increased in favor with man…Be like Jesus and Care for others. Look to serve other people and encourage them throughout your day. Be friendly, kind, compassionate, and learn to listen.
We learn these things from Luke 2:52, but we also learn from Jesus that he came for a purpose:
Luke 4:18–19
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Jesus came to proclaim the good news and to seek and save the lost. Be like Jesus and Communicate his Word to the world. Learn to share your faith in Jesus in practical ways, growing in ways to communicate the love of God in Christ, and set goals to be bold and courageous in speaking about Jesus to others.
Now that we have refreshed our learning about Christ, we should consider setting SMART goals for this upcoming year.
How to Set a Goal: What Are SMART Goals? (borrowed from “The Importance of Goal-Setting for Teens” by the Boys and Girls Club of America)
Coming up with a goal is easy, but creating an action plan to reach it can be challenging. SMART goals are a way to write goal statements that include the actual steps that you need to take to achieve the goal.
"SMART" is an acronym to help guide the goal-setting process. (And the good news is people all ages can use SMART goals!)
Goals should be:
• Specific: The goal does not need to be broad – it needs to be specific enough so that teens can focus their efforts and clearly define what they are going to do.
• Measurable: The goal should be measurable. When they can measure a goal, they see changes occur. Youth will also be able to stay on track and have better success.
• Attainable: The goal should be attainable. If they set a goal that is too far out of their reach, then they will not commit to it for long. Attainable goals help develop attitudes, abilities and skills if they are important.
• Realistic: The goal should be realistic. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement. It must require some effort.
• Time-bound: The goal should be achievable in a reasonable amount of time. Short-term goals can be broken down into actions to achieve over a short period of time. Long-term goals can be broken into time-based short-term goals over a longer period.
When thinking of the goal they want to achieve, teens should check that it's a SMART goal, meeting the criteria above. Then, it's time to consider how they will measure the goal and within what time frame.
We have been exhorted by Paul that there are things that need to change in our lives based on what we have learned about Jesus. We unpacked several areas that Jesus demonstrated growth and considered how we might be like Jesus in our daily lives. Having this grid for SMART goals, what goals do you want to set? How can you become more like Jesus in 2024? Setting spiritual goals to be like Jesus not only accomplishes the goal that was set, but it impacts all the other areas of your life and people in your life. If you want a fulfilling and impactful 2024, become more like Jesus.
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