For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
This proverb is based on an important point about love. If I truly love someone, I want what is best for them, even if that results in them not liking, let alone loving, me. I am not a parent, yet I have observed the truth of this proverb time and again. Parents who truly love their children make the effort and take the time to lovingly discipline them. Those parents who are more concerned with having their children loving them than in what is best for the child carry out lax discipline. In both cases, the children know the truth. Children whose parents discipline them consistently based on what the parent believe is best for the child know to the deepest part of their being that their parents love them. Children whose parents are lax, or inconsistent, disciplinarians do not truly believe that their parents love them.
The psalmist reminds us that what to us is a long time is but a moment to God. God will fulfill His promises, but the passage of time is not the same to Him as it is to us. The psalmist follows that up by reminding us that we do not have much time to serve God. Let us do what we can to serve God while we still have strength and time.
I will join the psalmist in saying about God:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.
I know that He will rescue and protect me. He will answer when I call. You too may have such confidence if you love Him and trust in His name. I will seek to serve the Lord in all of my actions.
Jesus reminds us not to let ourselves become distracted by carousing and drunkenness, nor by the worries of this life. Let us keep alert for how we can serve God and pray that He give the strength to stand before Christ. Let us always be on the watch for Christ’s return so that He will find us faithfully serving Him when He arrives.
After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel conquered more of the land. However, they failed to completely drive the people who were already living there out of the land. From the account written here, this was partially a lack of ability and partially a lack of will. For example, the tribe of Judah attacked and defeated Jerusalem, killing everyone there. However, when the tribe of Benjamin too possession of Jerusalem, they allowed the Jebusites to live there with them. I always struggle with the lesson presented here and at other places in the Old Testament. The Israelites often fell into sin because they failed to keep themselves separate from the peoples around them.
On the one hand, it is important to keep ourselves separate from those who do not worship and serve God. On the other hand, we cannot bring the Gospel message to the lost if we do not interact with them. As we live our lives we must balance our need to spend time with those who will strengthen our dedication to serving God with reaching out to those who do not yet have a relationship with Him.