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Saturday, August 13, 2005 Meditation Joshua 24:14-29 We face hundreds of choices every day. Many of them seem trivial: whether to wake up on time or sleep a little longer, what to eat for breakfast, what to write in a sympathy note, what to tell a friend seeking advice. Such choices do more than just express who we are. They also help form our character. Are we decisive or wishy-washy? Impulsive or reflective? Do our choices strengthen generosity or reinforce selfishness? Occasionally we face a choice that is life-changing: proposing to the girl you’ve fallen in love with, leaving an abusive spouse, quitting a job, going on a short-term mission. But all of these decisions are influenced by every little choice we’ve made along the way. It was the same for the Israelites. At the end of his life, their leader Joshua called everyone together for a final exhortation. Born in the wilderness, these people had followed Joshua across the Jordan into the Promised Land. They had defeated one enemy after another by following his battle tactics, strange as they seemed. (Remember the walls of Jericho?) What would happen to them after Joshua died? Joshua made it simple: Choose this day whom you will serve, the true God or one of the many pagan gods of the surrounding peoples. Respecting their freedom to choose, he simply declared his own intentions: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Instead of trying to force them to do the right thing, he even tried to discourage them (24:19). With one voice, the Israelites promised to serve the Lord who had done such mighty things for them (Joshua 24:16-18). Sadly, the Bible reveals that this was not a wholehearted choice. Just as the Israelites had long practiced grumbling and complaining whenever things went wrong, they again turned away from God when a new problem or enemy threatened them. Let’s pay attention to all the little choices we face today, making them with hearts generous and open to God. By taking these little steps of faithfulness, we will find it far easier to make the bigger steps whenever we encounter them. “Lord, I have chosen to be your disciple. Help me always to be conscious of your unconditional love for me. Help me to make every decision, large or small, in the light of that love.” Psalm 16:1-2, 5,7-8,11; Matthew 19:13-15 |