Tuesday, May 31

Joshua 24:14-15

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

These ancient words from the mouth of Joshua are surprisingly contemporary in three ways. First, everybody serves somebody! That’s true. It is in our very nature as human beings to serve someone or something – whether or not we are aware of our servitude. Second, there is no shortage of lesser gods (small “g”) that call out for our allegiance and seek to establish our priorities. Joshua refers to “the gods your forefathers served beyond the River” – meaning the false gods and idols of the surrounding pagan nations. But he may just as well have been talking about our modern cultural “gods” of wealth, celebrity, materialism and “success.” Third, Joshua clearly indicates that the center of spiritual life is the home! He says, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

When we apply these truths to our lives and our homes today we find ourselves asking a few questions. Whether we live in a “Leave it to Beaver” kind of home, a single parent home, an “empty nest” or even if we live alone, we have to ask ourselves:

Who or what does my home serve?

Is there any way in which my (our) home serves the cultural gods of entertainment or sports or materialism than the God who created us?

Is my (our) home the center of spiritual life in our family – or have we just assumed all that will happen at church?

“Faith @ Home” means that faith is not a once-a-week-Sunday-religious thing – but an everyday relationship. “Faith @ Home” means that we are intentional about inviting God to shape the values, conversation and habits of our homes more than we are shaped by the television or internet. “Faith @ Home” means we have decided, as Joshua says, that our house will serve the Lord rather than any of the other “gods” that surround us.

Take a few moments and think about the three questions listed above. Ask God to show you where, perhaps, other “gods” have crept in to steal the devotion and service of your home. Ask him to help you, and those who share your home, choose to serve the Lord in and through your home!


Brian Coffey