Joshua: Jesus Is King over All, One Family at a Time

Jesus has purposed to rule the world—and he does so one family at a time.

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When the Israelites first entered Canaan, their fearless leader Joshua set the appropriate tone for life in the new land. He stated, without mincing words, that his family would orient their lives around the Lord.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

Families living their lives centered on the Lord has always been at the heart of the Christian message. This is true blessedness—to know and walk with the Lord. And it starts with the family.

Check out what God says to Abram, hundreds of years before the time of Joshua:

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

Notice this “blessedness” is not just intended for some families scattered here and there—but rather to all the families of the earth.

And lest you think this promise of familial blessedness is simply a footnote in Genesis history, take a whiff of the Psalter:

“All the ends of the earth shall remember    and turn to the Lord,and all the families of the nations    shall worship before you” (Psalm 22:27).

You see, God has a plan for families to funnel into the kingdom of Christ—because Jesus is Lord and deserves the worship of every earthly family.

This is why all throughout Acts and elsewhere in the New Testament we see household after household coming into the kingdom.

• Cornelius' Household (Acts 10)

• Lydia's Household (Acts 16)

• The Philippian Jailer's Household (Acts 16)

• Crispus’ Household (Acts 18)

• Stephanas’ Household (1 Corinthians 1)

This is because God wants families to worship and serve the Lord, so much so that Paul to the Ephesian believers describes the “household code” of Christian living in the context of the family—because families together ought to orient themselves around Christ the King.

Oh, and let’s not forget, even in Paul’s own day, that the Christian message struck even to the heart of Caesar’s own household. Note how the Apostle closes his letter to the believers in Philippi:

“All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household” (Phil. 4:22). Christ can capture hearts indeed, even those in the Emperor’s familial inner circle—because Christ is worthy of the family.

Do you want to discover how Christ is capturing hearts of families all over the earth? My new book, Jesus in Beijing: A Missionary Memoir of Christ’s Victory in China, is available here.