Judges chapter 2 tells of a time in Israel that "all the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua , and all the days of the elders who out lived Joshua." However "when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose who did not know God." That deeply troubled me. How did an entire generation that served God all the days of their life raise a generation who didn't even know God? The word used for "served" in the verse directly refers to sacrificing in the temple. So to put it in today's terms "they went to church". Sometimes it seems that there is this big part of my life that goes to work, cleans my car, gets food, and mows the lawn. Then there is this little part that serves God "with all its heart". God yearns to have a much deeper relationship with us that. If we are serving Him our desires should be to be more like Jesus Christ. (Philippians 2:5, Galatians 3:27). The very word "Christian" means "Little Christ". Our faith isn't complete by going through the motions! It is about love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those things are proof to others that we serve God (Galatians 5:22-23). We should constantly be seeking our soul's salvation by comparing our selves, not to others, but to Jesus and His infallible work (Philippians 2). We cannot do this without meditating on God and His word. Johnny Cash wrote a song depicting the times he lived in. The song was called "What is Truth". The older generations, fresh out of a terrible world war, had become passive in their walk with God and in raising their children. They wondered why the young people had gone "crazy" with their music, clothes, and lifestyle. Cash says (well sings I guess) that the youth were simply asking what is truth because they couldn't see it in their parents lives. In a way they were reliving the days of Israel. If we truly live our lives for Christ as described in His word those looking up to us (and there is someone) won't have to ask "what is truth"?
