Last night I got to thinking about Joshua 24:15 (ESV), “Choose
this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord.” We tend to fall into the trap of thinking that following God is a
one-time decision rather than a daily choice. I’m not referring to the debate
about whether a person can lose their salvation, but about the way we choose to
live our lives day by day.
We can get sidetracked when we think of the spiritual
disciplines as a one-time choice. We can choose whether to spend time in the
Word and prayer, and we can choose our level of involvement with a local
church. How many people think that reading the Bible occasionally or hearing a
sermon once a week is all that’s really needed? I would question whether those
people are actually following Christ if they only make that choice one day out
of seven. Even if they do receive eternal salvation, they are missing out on
the blessings of pursuing God every day.
Obedience is also a choice. Some days it is an hourly choice
or even moment by moment. When temptation comes, we can choose to believe that
God will provide endurance and escape one minute at a time (1 Corinthians
10:13). In a way, it is a relief to stop thinking “I have to endure for the
rest of my life,” and to start thinking “I just have to make it through this
minute… now this minute… now this one.”
As we’ve been learning
about spiritual wisdom in recent sermons from 1 Corinthians 2, it is both
convicting and enlightening to realize that seeking wisdom needs to be a
constant choice as well. The news is full of celebrity pastors who neglected to
choose wisely in one area or another, or they are relying on human wisdom more
than God’s wisdom. Though they may not be caught in outright sin, they may be dogmatically
clinging to a particular interpretation of Scripture that is not necessarily
proven to be true. Every church and denomination feels at some level that they
are right and others are wrong, but some are more proudly dogmatic than they
should be.
Paul wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what
is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). MacLaren’s
Exposition
of this verse says:
“That transformation is no sudden
thing, though the revolution which underlies it may be instantaneous. The
working out of the new motives, the
working in of the new power, is no
mere work of a moment. It is a lifelong task till the lump be leavened.”
Similarly in Philippians 2:12-13: “work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will
and to work for His good pleasure.” The choice to turn to Christ for salvation
may be a one-time event, but working it out in daily life is one choice after
another.
God keeps on saying to us, “Choose this day whom you will serve, and this hour, and this moment, and
this second. Keep choosing as often as it takes. Choose Me; choose life; choose
health; choose obedience; choose holiness; choose wisdom.”