Word For Today

We all belong to someone. We can be slaves to our sins or we can belong to God. When you believe in Jesus as your Savior, God frees you from slavery to sin and adopts you as his child. You belong to God just as a child belongs to their father! And God offers you all the privileges of being his child: the love, provision, and protection of God. But, we have to choose for ourselves to belong to God:

¹⁴ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 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.”

Joshua 24:14-15

The famous words of Joshua 24:15 are some of the last words of Joshua. He was an old man, who had led the people since Moses and had served God faithfully. In these last words of Joshua (Joshua 24: 2-23), he addresses the Israelites before his death. Joshua begins by reminding the people of the history of Israel, their time in Egypt, the exodus, and their arrival at the Promised Land. Joshua then reminds the people of all that God has done: delivering them from slavery, guiding them through the wilderness, and all the many victories God granted them over their enemies.

At this point, Joshua challenges the Israelites - Who do you serve? To whom do you belong? Joshua makes it a choice: the people can either serve the Lord wholeheartedly, or they can follow after the gods of the surrounding nations. Joshua makes his intentions clear: But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. In the following verses we can see that the Israelites respond positively, they declare their commitment to serve the Lord alone.

We have the same question to answer: Who do we serve? There is no distinction between who you serve, and who you belong to; they ultimately mean the same thing. You can't serve false idols, prioritize money, your career, or possessions, and think that you belong to God... so we should be very careful, and reflect on what it is we have made our priorities. Who do we serve? To whom do you belong?

Learn more from the life of Joshua

Love. This is the essential element for a marriage not to be destroyed. But what does it mean to love? Love is different from passion, which is a fleeting feeling. To love is the decision we make every day to dedicate ourselves to the well-being of others.

And well-being, or what is best for the spouse, involves understanding, sacrifice, forgiveness, and commitment on our part. This is the nature of biblical love, which many nowadays are unfamiliar with.

⁷ Beloved, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:7-8 and 10

Most people project onto marriage the dream of perfect love that they will only find in Jesus Christ. That's why they get frustrated and can't carry forward the marriage commitment because they base it on fragile and selfish foundations. When getting married, a Christian needs to remember they are entering into a covenant with a sinner, loved by God.

This person, so admired, will certainly fail, to a greater or lesser extent. But even so, they remain someone for whom Christ proved His love on the cross. For this reason, you should also love, empathize, forgive, and encourage to become more like Christ.

Who gives us the strength to love, despite adversities? Jesus!

Read more: You Are Special To God: 12 Bible Verses That Prove It