God-Life

by Ben

I read Joshua 3-6.

As previously mentioned, the people of the history books live God. They don't merely live for Him, they live Him. Everything that they do is consumed with reverence, understanding, and trust in God.

We see this very clearly in these chapters. Starting off, the Israelites are preparing to cross the Jordan. Before doing this, Joshua orders them, "Sanctify yourselves. Tomorrow God will work miracle-wonders among you."

After a Red Sea-styled parting of the Jordan, the Israelites cross "and not one wet foot." They build a marker/memorial of God's power using stones from the dry riverbed of the Jordan. Waters begin to flow, only after all of the Israelites are across.

Chapter 5 brings us the re-circumcision of the People of Israel. This act is a very literal cutting away of their negative heritage: the "parents" who had gone against God and been the cause for the desert wandering.

Chapter 6 contains the famous story of the walls of Jericho. After seven days of marching around the city of Jericho, the Israelites (following God's orders) yell and the walls come tumblin' down. (After three days, I'd have gotten a little bored of marching and listening to trumpets without any result)

However, the Israelites are living every moment with God. They trust Him. All of their recorded actions can be seen as testament to their Creator. When I think about my life, I feel pathetic by comparison. This history occurred approximately thirteenth century B.C.! With all of the improvements in the last 20 years, I could do much more to live God (let alone 3,000 years!). This gets me thinking about how I can better live for God in the simple things of my everyday. But moreso, it forces me to rethink my entire life. Yes, I work for the church and for God, but does my every action display it? If someone were to look over my life, as a whole, would they see God? How about if they took a snapshot of one moment? What would they see then?