“Are you sure?” we say to a friend who’s just announced that she’s going to quit her job and take a long trip to Greece.
“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”
It’s a question we’ve all been asked a time or two: “Are you sure?” … “Is this what you really want to do?” … “Have you thought about it?” … “Are you sure?”
There have been times when I’ve decided, “No, I’m not sure.”
“I haven’t thought about it enough - maybe I should do something else.”
We’ve all been there!
“Are you sure?”
Joshua put the question to Israel:
Are you sure you want to serve the LORD?
I can imagine folks saying, “Josh, what do you mean? Here we are in the Promised Land. We’ve done it; we’ve fought the good fight. Of course we want to serve the LORD.”
Joshua says, “Be careful … if you say one thing and do another, it won’t go well with you.”
“If you say, ‘We’ll serve the LORD,’ and then turn around and serve other gods, and get things all mixed up, a little bit of Yahweh, a dash of Baal, a few fertility gods, it will end badly for you.”
The people protest.
“Josh, this is what we want. We WILL serve the LORD.”
“If that’s what you want,” says Josh … “then do it!”
Put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the LORD, the God of Israel.
There is no room for half-hearted faith in the Promised Land.
No room for faith all mixed up with other gods and powers and principalities and half-baked ideas.
The Promised Land requires clear-headed thinking and full-blown dedication.
Joshua calls the people to a serious level of faith.
By the way, when the name Joshua is translated into Greek, it become Jesus … Jesus is our Joshua.
Jesus leads us into a NEW Promised Land, as Joshua did of old …
Come and follow me, says Jesus to the fisherman in their boats.
To Zacchaeus up a tree, Come on down; I want to have dinner in your home tonight.
To Lazarus in the tomb, Come out from among the dead and live.
To Saul on the Damascus Road, I have plans for you - to be my missionary to the Gentiles.
Yet Jesus offers words of caution to those who would sign on too quickly:
Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but I don’t have a place to lay my head. In other words, I won’t give you a rose garden; I don’t promise an easy go of it. They will do to you what they do to me. Think twice about it; don’t jump in too quickly. If you put your hand to the plow, don’t look back. If you want to build tower, first figure out what it will cost.
Several things to keep in mind:
Our walk with Christ is no Halloween Party.
As I write these words, I’m watching Head Start kids all dressed up for Halloween - Darth Vader and Lady Gaga and Spider Man … for a few hours, they are the costume, and the costume is them.
But when they get home, the costume comes off and into the closet with it.
And then they are what they are - little kids by the name of Johnny and Heidi and Amy and Jimmy.
We have to ask the question: Are we clothed in Christ, or just wearing a Christian costume?
There’s a costume store on nearly corner of every town across the country … we call them churches … go to church, and someone will put a costume on us … it may even fit real good … we look at ourselves in the mirror and are pleased.
Sing the hymns, say some prayers, do a few good deeds.
But then we have to ask the Joshua question: “Are we sure?”
Are we clothed in Christ, or merely wearing a Christian costume?
How do we know?
If it’s a costume we’re wearing, we’re proud of it, and like to show it off.
The sign of the costume is the pride with which it’s worn … the pride that puffs us up and the pride that judges others: “My costume is better than your costume.”
Hear what Jesus says:
Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention.
Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet.
When you fast, don’t put on a sad face.
In other words, don’t call attention to ourselves.
Whatever we do, do it quietly, without fanfare, without pride, without judgment of others … do it well, do it with love.
Are we wearing a costume or are we clothed in Christ?
A good question to ask on St. Andrew’s Day … Andrew died a martyr at the end of the First Century … Peter’s brother, one of the disciples, he became a bishop, a leader in the early church.
Andrew lived in a world where there was no room for pretending.
At the point of a sword, or on a cross, a costume simply won’t do.
Andrew had to be real.
That’s why we call him a Saint.
And we have to be real, too.
And when we’re real, then we’re saints, just like Andrew.
Joshua’s question to the people is a good question.
“Are you sure?”
Dear Christian friends, with the people of the Promised Land, with one voice, heart and mind, let us swear allegiance to Jesus Christ our Lord.
No costumes here; only saints, who love the LORD! Amen and Amen.
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