There was a popular Christian song when I was in college called Two Sets of Jones’ about two different couples and how their life developed. As the story unfolds, one family faces adversity and cracks while the other thrives. The chorus describes the families:
And the rain, came down,
And it blew the four walls down
And the clouds they rolled away
And one set of Jones’, was standing that day.
The difference lies not in their circumstances, but their foundation. The first Jones’ trusted in the sandy foundation of themselves. The rain and wind of life assaulted and destroyed them. But the other Jones’ chose to build on the solid foundation of Jesus.
God’s people were faced with a decision: What would be their foundation? Joshua, the young leader who followed after Moses, called them to action:
Now therefore fear the lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the lord. Joshua 24:14-15
Faced with a choice between the solid foundation of rock or shifting sands, the people reply:
Far be it from us that we should forsake the lord to serve other gods, for it is the lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. Joshua 24:16-17
You now have a choice: Whom will you serve? Which set of Jones’ will you be?