Be very careful…..

‘Don’t do what Auntie Helen has just done. It’s too dangerous.’

Yesterday, we walked out along the pier at South Shields and when we arrived at the end, there were some convenient metal footholds to get up onto the wall.

So I did.

Of course, I did. That’s what they were there for.

I’m not a grown up who sees risks. I always walk too close to the edge and clamber on slippery rocks and run across roads.

I don’t see the risks for my kids either – which has suited some of their personalities more than others.

It all started with Luke – who was incapable of walking on a path in a straight line or playing at the park without scaling the highest piece of equipment and sitting on the top.

‘Don’t do what that boy is doing. It’s too dangerous.’ That’s what other ‘more responsible’ parents would say.

And then Courtney exhibited the daredevil gene. I loved it. It exuded life and confidence and fun and freedom.

‘They won’t ever have the confidence to do something they are not capable of doing’, I used to say.

I guess I was proved right. 22 years and 5 kids later – and only one broken bone between them all (and one broken finger for me – ice skating, that was).

‘Don’t do what that the Redferns are doing. It’s too dangerous.’ That’s what my childminder friend would say to the kids in her care (and one of them still broke his arm leapfrogging over a bollard).

I’m not one to play it safe in life. I love a challenge. When we got a dog, a friend remarked ‘Just when life is calming down for you and Andy, you feel the need to introduce something else to make your lives harder…that’s just who you both are.’

I will take risks in life. I will raise my head above the parapet. I will throw parties and have no idea if anyone will come. I will organise crazy charity stunts and have no idea if they will work. I will be honest about what is going on in my family and relationships.

All of that brings the risk of failure and humiliation and hurt.

But that’s just who I am.

So when I read today’s chapter, I was struck by the repetition of the phrase ‘Be very careful’.

A long time had passed. Israel had rested from battle. Joshua was now a very old man. He knew that his time was nearly up –

Now I am about to go the way of all the earth.  Joshua 23:14

He gathered the leaders around him and reminded them of all God had done for them. He also reminded them of the consequences of turning away from the one true God. In pointing out how God had kept all his promises to the people, Joshua highlighted also how God would stick to all that He had threatened.

And so this mattered. This really mattered. Be careful. Be very careful.

Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.  Joshua 23:6

So be very careful to love the Lord your God.  Joshua 23:11

And this is how.

But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.  Joshua 23:8

At Shechem, Joshua took the people back to the beginning and retold the whole story – from Abraham to Canaan to Egypt to Moses to the Red Sea to the wilderness to Balaam to Jericho – reminding them how it was all about God, how it had always all been about God – I took…I led…I gave…I assigned…I sent…I afflicted…I brought out…I did…I brought…I gave…I destroyed…I would not listen…I brought…I delivered…I gave…I sent…

Sometimes it is good to look back and be reminded of the journey. To see how far you have come and how God has been working in your life.

So then, having laid all this out before the people, Joshua gave them a choice.

choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve  Joshua 24:15

This is the choice we face every day. Based on everything you know and everything you have experienced this far, choose today who you will serve.

Joshua is clear –

But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

The people were right behind him. After all, they had just been reminded of all that God had done for them. ‘Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!’ (v16)

God himself brought us and our parents up out of Egypt.

God himself performed those great signs before our eyes.

God himself protected us on our entire journey.

We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.

‘Are you sure?’ Joshua asked them, ‘Are you sure you can do this?’

They were sure. They reaffirmed their faith in their God and Joshua erected a stone as a sign of this renewal of the covenant between God and His people.

Because when we are reminded of who God is and all that He has done, then yes, the natural choice is to want to serve and follow and hold fast to and love God. And then we wander off into our day and get distracted by all the lovely distractions out there and over-react to something that is said or done and start to drown in stress and anxiety and lose sight of God.

How easy it is to forget.

How easy it was for the Israelites to forget.

That is why we have to be careful. Be very careful.

I love the phrase ‘practising the presence of God’ – because it does take practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Just like the Israelites, I will get it wrong – over and over again.

But this is one area where I will be careful.

This is my intention –

‘As for me, I will serve the Lord.’

However much practice it takes.