Many of us can remember an exact day we chose to follow the Lord. We Baptists have coined the phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” to describe it. That’s a phrase that’s not found in the Bible, though there’s not anything inherently wrong with it—as long as we understand what it’s supposed to mean. What exactly does it mean to decide to follow Jesus? And how often do we think of it as a decision to serve and obey?
As Joshua was nearing death, he gathered the people to remind them of their past and exhort them for their future. God had chosen them to be a holy people, recused them out of bondage in Egypt, led them powerfully in a conquest of the promised land, and shown them grace and forgiveness time and time again. They were blessed beyond imagination; Yahweh was their God, and they were his people. So it was only natural that they should serve their God and no one else. They should faithfully obey his commandments, which were crafted for their good and their righteousness, and put away any idols that may pull them away from doing so. But the people had to actively make that choice to serve and obey the Lord.
Joshua presented this choice to them essentially as a challenge, and the challenge remains for us today. We know that God is good; we know the good that he has done for us, and who we are in Christ Jesus, and what God now requires of us. So make your choice! Will you live in servitude to your God and live righteously, according to his perfect goodness? Or will you decide that some other idol is more worthwhile? It’s a choice that has to take action. The Lord does not lie when he says that every blessing and every good thing comes with submitting to his perfect, divine will. Choose whether you will serve him and receive an eternal life of fulfillment from him. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
