Near the end of his life, Joshua gathered the elders and the people after they had finally settled in the promised land. He said to them: "Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

Choose. Make the conscious choice.

People of faith have long recognized that it is God alone who can ultimately save us. Money, power, political agendas, military strength, even theology, relationships, and other people — all temporal, all limited. Our hope has to be bigger than any of that, or our lives become small and skewed.

I think about Joshua as an older man, full of experience and hard-won wisdom. He seemed keenly aware that the god you serve determines the kind of life you live.

I've been reflecting on that this week. What does it actually mean to choose to serve the Lord? Maybe it isn't one dramatic decision. Maybe it's the small decisions that add up — the quiet, daily choices that reveal who we are really worshiping. Every day, we get to decide again.

Today, I am going to choose to care — even when every fiber of my being says, why bother, Joe, you won't make a difference.

I am going to choose to do the right thing — or at least think honestly through what the right thing is.

I am going to choose to look for God's presence even in the people who make me angry.

I am going to choose to give generously, even when I'm afraid to.

I am going to choose to notice that even the toughest, most draining moments of life are somehow still alive with the same power that created the stars, the highest mountains, the depths of the ocean — and love.

I am going to choose to follow Jesus, and his way of being, to the best of my ability.

What will you choose today?

Prayer: We remember that Jesus said he came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. Help us to choose to keep you at the heart and center of our lives, O God, that abundant life would be ours, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

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