Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
—Hebrews 10:23
It was in the presence of tens of thousands of the children of Israel that Joshua made his bold confession, “Choose you this day whom ye will serve…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” His was not to be the religion of the nation or the religion of neighbors. Everyone else could reject God, and he be left alone, but still the Lord Jehovah would be his God. Just as Abraham had to leave his father’s house, and Israel had to leave Egypt, Joshua, too, had to be a man of decision and confession. He had to come out and be separate—one of a peculiar people unto the Lord. This is the kind of consecration we want in our family life, where God’s own holy people and blessed will is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.
How often parents, whose early married life was marked by decision and earnestness, later become aware of a spiritual coldness in their lives because they give in to the demands of their children or their friends. It may seem difficult to be peculiar. Yet, if we trust God for His guidance, and yield ourselves to His personal friendship, the joy of separation from the world will be abundant for ourselves and our children.
Excerpt taken from Raising your Children for Christ by Andrew Murray. This excerpt can be found in Chapter 15. Public Domain.