Commitment
Tuesday, March 4, 2008, 12:55 PM
Joshua 24:14-24 "Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God." Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you." The people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD." Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses." "Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." The people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice." In order to live a life of meaning and significance it begins with Jesus. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
The book of Joshua contains a famous Biblical verse about choice and commitment. In verse 15, Joshua says to his people: "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Would you agree that our commitments clarify who we are? The point is when we make and keep promises we establish trust.
In today’s primary the end result will be the end of the road for some; to name one for sure is Mike Huckabee. The candidates have all made promises and made efforts to establish trust. The primary results will be influenced by whether we trust them or not. If we don't trust someone it means we don't really know them. Sometimes we don’t trust someone because we don’t trust ourselves. If we don't trust ourselves, it means we've forgotten who we are.
I believe in being gracious, merciful, and forgiving toward people. This principle is at the heart of the Gospel. But grace, mercy, and forgiveness mean something only if we acknowledge that lines exist between right and wrong, godly and ungodly behavior. Grace motivates us to cross the line to bring mercy to those on the other side, but it doesn't erase the line.
Our moral and spiritual commitments are the way we become real people. Our commitments help keep our lives secure -- they help us remain true to ourselves and to our beliefs. Without them we will be pushed by other people and pulled apart by life's changing circumstances. Our commitments and our choices determine our character -- they are a source of security because they make us people of substance and purpose. They make us who we are.
Remember we see in the Bible example after example where temptation tests us to see if we will forget our commitments and break our promises. Often we don't mean to cause anyone, including ourselves, any harm, but when we leave behind our commitments we can turn into someone we don't recognize.
Joshua knew how difficult it was going to be for the Israelites to remain loyal to their commitment to God. Remember God called Moses to deliver them from Egyptian slavery, and for Joshua to lead them to the promise land. Joshua knew that the great temptation would be to forsake the Lord and conform to the ways of the people and foreign gods. So, Joshua called his people to a renewed commitment to the Lord: “Choose this day whom you will serve -- will it be these other gods or will it be the Lord. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
We need to look closely at our Presidential candidate’s commitments; will they turn out to be who they said they were?
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