Choose Whom You Will Serve: The Decision That Turns Knowledge Into Faith

Joshua 24:15

15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (NIV)

Christianity cannot be explained. It must be experienced to be understood.

The Bible can be seen as a documentary that recounts the history of Christ. We see what He did and listen to what He said. We think we know Him and that we understand Christianity. But in our passage today, Joshua tells the people they need to choose whom they will serve: either the false gods of the people around them or the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Christianity can be fully understood only when we choose to serve the Lord. Understanding follows obedience, not the other way around.

To serve the Lord is more than being a good person. It is more than ethics and morality. To serve the Lord is to reveal the love of God and the way of God to others through our words and behaviors for the purpose of encouraging them to choose to serve Christ as well. It is only when we dive deep into doing the work of God that is reconciling people back to Christ that we can fully understand the teachings of Christ.

This lifestyle is hard. The struggle will force us back into the presence of God in prayer and weeping. In His presence, we will find what cannot be found through knowledge alone. Knowing what Christ did and said is good, but knowledge alone does not drive me deeper into His presence. But the pain of life often will. And in our prayer, as we weep and seek comfort and wisdom, the Holy Spirit will come to us and lavish us with love, heal our wounds, increase our wisdom, and make our joy complete. Only then do we truly understand what this Christian life is really all about.

We live in an age of knowledge. People know what Christ did. They know the miracles of God in both the Old and New Testaments. They know the Scriptures and Christ's specific teachings. But until they choose to serve Him, they will never experience the fullness of Him. They will never understand the joy of being His disciple. We must not choose to gain knowledge of Him. We must not choose to gain knowledge of His teaching. We must choose to serve Him.

Prayer: Let me walk with You, go beyond knowledge into serving You as my Lord, that I might truly know You and experience You. Amen.