Never Too Old

Derl Keefer

 

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me

and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

(Joshua 24:15)

 

Joshua, what a man!  The pages of the Bible describe him as a person of integrity, with purity of character and undeniable leadership qualities.  When Moses needed an associate with a strong heart, clear mind and spiritual insight, he turned to Joshua.  Joshua’s career started as one of the twelve men chosen to “spy out Canaan” and bring back a report about the “promised land.” He was one of two men who gave a positive report to Moses for the taking of the land. But the reports brought back by the other ten “spies” turned the people against Moses, and they refused to go forward. As punishment for their disobedience, Israel was prohibited by God from entering Canaan until the generation of adults who rebelled against Moses died and were buried in the wilderness.

 

At the death of Moses, Joshua was God’s appointed leader. He inherited a nation of nomads that demonstrated an incredible sense of going nowhere.  Some had a spiritual toughness and would follow Joshua anywhere.  Others were spiritually ambivalent, with an indecisiveness that hung around their necks like the pagan jewelry of the Egyptians and Canaanites.  The majority of the Israelites were spiritually indifferent, with a philosophy that simply said, “If Jehovah blesses---that’s fine, but if not---no problem, because we didn’t think he would anyway.”

 

Joshua remained loyal to God and to the people. Under his leadership the Children of Israel entered Canaan and began to conquer it. He and Caleb, the two spies who brought a positive report a generation earlier, were the oldest of Israel’s adult population that were permitted to enter the Land.

 

Fast forward twenty years. Now Joshua stands where Moses once stood—facing his own death and ready to relinquish leadership of the Nation to others. But even though he was a man of 110 years of age, he still had sufficient courage to challenge the people to take a stand for God. He knew a choice was needed to be made, and in the text above he challenged the people to make it.

 

Today, people of maturity—no matter what their chronological age—still feel led to stand for biblical principles. Like Joshua, they have wintered and summered for many years, doing the work of God. Their faith in God is unshakeable. Their vision for what God wants done is as clear as it was when they were young leaders themselves. Their confidence in the vision God gave them is strong.  

 

Joshua stated it best when he said, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”  Thomas Young said, “A bold Christian is the highest style of a man.”[i]  However old (or young) you are, it is your turn to stand for Jesus in today’s wild and wacky world!

 

Heavenly Father, Christianity needs more leaders like Joshua—people who will be persons of integrity, courage, and a life empowered by the Spirit of God. Like many of my closest friends, my best days in terms of changing my world are behind me. But I understand the options we have as Christians today—to move forward or to turn away from the opportunities God has given us. Today’s Church needs people like Joshua. Help me to be such a person.  Amen.