Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth;
Insights: Today’s portion of verse
14 of Joshua 24 is kind of like the stick and the carrot of motivation. In other words, we are to serve God because
of the love we have for Him. After all,
if we are Christ-followers, we have been saved from eternal damnation. A portion of our service to the Father ought
to be out of gratitude for His amazing grace.
At the same time, however, as we have been looking at, God is God and
ought to be feared. Hebrews 10:23-25
gives us a good New Testament picture of this concept. It reads, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate
one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more
as you see the day drawing near.”
Because so many do not really have a healthy fear of the Lord, they tend
to waver in the hope with which the confessed Christ Jesus as Savior. When this wavering begins, the first thing
you see them doing is leaving the church.
In that kind of picture we do not see the proper fear of the Lord being
displayed in those departing the Body.
At the same time, we see an admonishing to stimulate one another to love
and good deeds. The reason we perform
such ministerial tasks is because we have grown in our love for Jesus and feel
compelled to share His love to others.
In that display of love, hopefully, they are encouraged. Let us choose to serve the Lord out of proper
fear and perfect love. One last thought
regarding the Hebrews passage. Notice it
concludes with “all the more as you see the day drawing near.” There ought to be urgency in our service and
love to the Lord and others. Let’s show
that love today.
Questions:
- Are you stimulating others to love and good deeds?
- Does your service convict you of being a disciple of Jesus?
Prayer: Father, help me to be a better disciple today. A disciple that serves You and displays my
love for You to other people. Amen.
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