As for me and my house....

“As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

    This statement by Joshua came at the end of a long and fruitful life. Joshua was not a king, nor a judge or a prophet. He was a soldier, who gave his life to God. He was in the desert with Moses, he defeated the Amorites. He crossed the Jordan River into the promised land. He conquered Jericho. If you went to church as a kid, those are your Sunday School lessons.
    Joshua knew firsthand the power of God. He knew to obey and serve Him. When Joshua made that statement he was talking to all the Israelites and reminding them of who they were serving. At Shechem he renewed the covenant.
    Joshua was a leader by example. When he declared “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”, he was not only referring to his close family but also to everybody in his household and his sphere of influence. The rest of the people declared right there and then that they too would not forsake God and that they would serve Him. They knew that Joshua meant what he said because he lived it everyday.
    What I find the most fascinating about this passage is how the story ends.

“Israel served the Lord throughout the Lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.”
Joshua 24:31

What a testimony that is to Joshua and how he lived his life.
    How we live our lives will influence people in our family and our community. We do not need to preach to convert. We need to live it.
    Will you stand today and say, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”