Far be it for us to forsake the Lord our God...we will serve the Lord, for he is our God. The last act that Joshua performed as a leader of the community was to gather the people together before the Lord. And after relaying the words of the Lord to them detailing how God had accompanied the community since the call of Abraham, the community proceeded to renew the covenant (vv. 16ff). It is at the beginning of the renewal of the covenant that we encounter the above words (Far be it for us to forsake the Lord our God...we will serve the Lord, for he is our God). The words, though not directly coerced by Joshua, were nonetheless elicited when he outlined for them what their responsibility as partners to the covenant was. However, they were free to chart their own history moving forward. They were free to make a choice between continuing to serve the one true God, or make a switch their allegiance to the gods their ancestors had worshipped in Egypt. They chose to continue serving the Lord their God. It is worth noting the reasons for their choice: the wonders the Lord God had done for them in the past. They did not choose God because of what God had promised to do for them in the future. They had no idea regarding what the future held for them, but based on the past, they had a pretty good idea that whatever the future held, they were sure of facing it with hope and courage because the Lord God would be standing by their side. Serving the Lord is not about what we do or have promised to do for the Lord. It is not about how many hours I will spend in front of the Blessed Sacrament, or how many Sundays and holy days of obligation that I will remember to keep holy. Serving the Lord is not about how many times I will fast or help the needy. As much as these are part of our faith life and as such are important, observing them does not constitute serving God. Rather, serving God is all about being obedient to God. Serving God is all about calling to mind what God has done for us so that we can obey God's voice in the here and now. It is this remembrance that compels us to be obedient and faithful to God and God's commands. When I call to mind what God has wrought in my life, it becomes easy to keep and observe God's command.