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 24:15

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  
Deuteronomy 10:12

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Bedazzled by four hundred-plus hits on a website featuring crafts, I studied the images for the perfect wall plaque of Joshua 24:15, “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” What is it about Joshua’s line-in-the-sand to the Israelites that speaks to so many Christians and makes us willing to spend up to $125.00 for a decorative reminder?  

In today’s Scripture verse, Joshua is telling  the Israelites to choose who they will serve: other gods or their Lord. For him, as spelled out in Deuteronomy 10:12, “to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” is his way of life.  

Jesus reiterates the same command many times throughout the gospels. One instance is found in Matthew 22:37, “And he said to them, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” Serving Him is absent from this scripture verse, but we know that when we love God with all our heart, we’re compelled to action.. 

And so our $125 sign serves as our reminder that a natural outpouring of loving God is to serve God. The irony I felt when seeing so many images of this particular scripture, is the realization that over time, home decorations merge into the background and may not even be noticed much. One solution, I suppose, is to routinely dust the wall hanging as a way to recommit yourself often and find ways to obey this loving command.

Next Steps

What do you do that involves your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? With something significant to you in mind, give thought to Joshua’s challenge: “choose for yourself this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Is what you do wholeheartedly in harmony with the gospel? Do you serve Jesus with the same intensity?