“What Defines You?” Devotional #30

            Joshua 24:15b, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (NIV)  For Joshua it was extremely important that he and his family be defined as servants of God.  His definition of his life centered on God.  What is used to define a life today?  For some it is God just like it was for Joshua but, for others its money or the lack there of. There is an unbelievable amount of weight placed on social class (rich, middle class, working class or poor), the amount of things you own or where you live.  What you have accomplished in your life is yet another measurement used to define you.

            As for me, the material (what is owned) doesn’t really matter!  What matters to me is where the heart is with God.  That, my friend, is what helps me define who we are.  Maybe it is too simplistic but, that’s really my one and only measurement used to define people.  I value people for their heart not their wallet.  “Love others,” is what Jesus said.  Mathew 22:37-39, “…‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (NIV) 

Material wealth or the lack thereof means absolutely nothing in God’s economy.  In God’s economy what is valued?  Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (NIV)  You can be the richest, most influential person, or even the poorest person on the face of this earth, but if you are not humble it means nothing.  Proverbs 22:4, “Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.”  All people, whether rich or poor, have the same thing in common.

            What is it that we all have in common?  Proverbs 22:2, “Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all.” (NIV)  We are all sinners in need of a Savior, Romans 5:12, “This is what happened: Sin came into the world by one man, Adam. Sin brought death with it. Death spread to all men because all have sinned.” (NIV)  We have sin in common and we have hope that was given as a gift.  Romans 5:18-19, “Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right.” (MSG) 

This one man that said yes to God was Jesus!  John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” 1 John 1:8-10, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” (NIV)

Joshua 24:29, “After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten.” (NIV)  Joshua’s title was, “the servant of the Lord.”   How great is that?  Not only did Joshua define himself as a servant of the Lord, the Lord defined him as such.  We can define ourselves or allow others to define us but in the end the only definition that will stick for eternity is God’s definition of us. 

 

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