S.M.A.R.T. Resolutions
How God makes promises
(from my upcoming book God is like a Holiday… stay tuned for more)
The clock strikes midnight, fireworks, champagne, confetti, car horns, kissing, and promises of being different all explode around us.
New Years is a time where people not only celebrate the last year but decide what they want to do different in the newly arrived calendar. We make promises of all types.
Lose weight
Get out of debt
No more alcohol
Publishing a book
Make a lot of money
etc
We call these New Years Resolutions and they are our promises for the new year.
This custom dates back to the Babylonians, where they made promises to the gods, hoping for favor in the new year. We continue this practice by promising ourselves and others we are going to change. But less than 10% keep these promises.
Often, the problem is with bad goals or unrealistic resolutions or simply not enough will power.
In 1981, 3 guys introduced a new way to set goals. They introduced a S.M.A.R.T. way to set goals. People have updated this framework over the years and it has become a popular way in business culture to set and reach good goals. Most people making New Years Resolutions may benefit from reviewing it.
S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for,
S – Specific: Target a specific area of improvement.
M – Measurable: There must be something that you can measure.
A – Achievable: Needs to be realistic and obtainable.
R – Relevant: It actually has to be something within your control. (relevant to your job)
T – Time bound: The goal needs to state when you must accomplish it by.
Jesus made some pretty audacious goals and claims while He was on earth.
I'd like to take a look at scripture and see if one of His promises were S.M.A.R.T.. We'll be looking at a promise in the gospel of John.
I give them a life that is unceasing, and death will not have the last word. Nothing or no one can steal them from My hand. – John 10:28 (Voice)
OK, pretty big resolution here. Was it S.M.A.R.T?
Let's find out.
S – Specific
This promise covers a lot of people.
He's promising nothing can steal them away from his hand, but Jesus does put qualifiers and gets specific to who has this promise. Throughout scripture, Jesus and God make promises that a person must believe to be saved. They are talking about a specific type of person.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies" – John 11:25
Check. Jesus was specifically talking about saving just those that believe in Him, He was specific.
M – Measurable
Can Jesus even measure such a thing?
Is this a metric He reflects on? In a parable Jesus told, He reveals his heart behind the thought of losing even one of His sheep.
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. - Luke 15:3-6 (NIV)
I think it's safe to assume yes, Jesus and God can and are counting and looking for lost sheep.
A – Achievable
Can Jesus accomplish this audacious resolution?
Is it within Jesus' power to make sure He doesn't lose a single one? I'm asking for a friend. I mean, I'm not challengine Jesus who wants to step up and challenge God? In the Bible, people did challenge what God and Jesus could do and this is Jesus' response.
But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead]. Matthew 22:29 (AMP)
I think He has the power to save people and to make sure they make it, yup.
R – Relevant
Is this Jesus' job?
Is this just a distraction from what God sent Him to do? Making sure a goal or resolution lines up with something you can control is pivotal in the S.M.A.R.T method. Let's look at why God sent Jesus down from heaven.
He sent Me to care for all He has given Me so that nothing and no one will perish. – John 6:39 (Voice)
This is actually Jesus' job to save people and to make sure that no one will perish.
T – Time Bound
What is the deadline for this resolution?
How long does Jesus have to accomplish this mission? The scripture states it very clear, in fact, Jesus states it clearly in the verse following our last reference.
"For this is My Father’s will and purpose, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him [as Savior] will have eternal life, and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.” – John 6:39 (AMP)
Although God is above time and space, He actually uses the Earth's limited time to define Jesus' goal of saving every believer.
Just like people around the world make promises and use S.M.A.R.T. goals to help them accomplish it, so too has God proven His resolution is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
(This is part of an upcoming book I’m working on… God is like a Holiday… stay tuned)