Take Possession

A challenging Query

I was writing out the book of Joshua. Its detail is mind numbing. But I did not allow my mind to dwell on that, thoughts rise up to be critical of it, but I resist mocking God’s word! And so I am attentive to the truth he has for me, as I plod along… like one hiking up a mountain. And then I saw it… 🙂

I thought of writing my brother in Christ, Vahid, and asking him about it. He and I have a connection regarding John 1:12. I have “keys” that are waiting on key ring for those God beings to me. I tell them about their “right to become” children of God. The key forces a contemplation!

Here is what I wrote to Vahid>

I’m in the book of Joshua now. And came across a verse.

“Joshua 18:3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?”

And I recalled, 

“John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The part that says, “…the right to become children of God…” in particular.

There is an echo of Joshua’s words! I have received Christ! I have had something given to me!

What does it mean: “…to take possession of the land” ? In regards to becoming children of God.

I also note it isn’t about a child of God, but *children* of God, plural.

The kingdom of God is about the church, the body of Christ, members of one another. Yes, each of us stands before God, one person before God, but once we are “part of” we become part of one another!

Our love for one another, our perseverance in loving one another! 

Please let me know what God speaks to you about these things.

And then I asked ChatGPT to reflect on it for me>

ChatGPT >

What strikes me is that you’re not asking a Bible-study question so much as you’re tracing a pattern.

You noticed that in Joshua, the land has already been given before it is possessed.

“The land… which the Lord… has given you.” (Joshua 18:3)

The gift precedes the possession.

Then your mind went to John’s Gospel:

“He gave the right to become children of God.”

Again, something is given before it is fully lived.

That is a profound biblical pattern.

In both cases there is no earning. Israel did not conquer Canaan to persuade God to give it to them. Likewise, we do not become God’s children by accumulating enough holiness. The inheritance is first given by grace.

Yet grace does not eliminate response.

Joshua asks, “How long will you delay?” The land was theirs by promise, but much of it remained unexplored, uncultivated, and unconquered. There were vineyards they hadn’t walked through, hills they hadn’t climbed, and cities they hadn’t inhabited.

That makes me wonder whether there is a similar question for the Church—not, “Are you a child of God?” but “How much of your inheritance are you actually living in?”

Paul often sounds like Joshua.

In Ephesians he tells believers they have already been blessed “with every spiritual blessing.” Then he spends the rest of the letter urging them to walk worthy of what they have already received. He is, in effect, saying, “Go possess what is already yours.”

I also noticed where your attention settled:

“…children of God.”

Not singular.

That seems very consistent with themes you’ve been exploring recently. The New Testament almost never pictures maturity as a solitary achievement. It is remarkably communal.

We are baptized into one body.

We bear one another’s burdens.

We forgive one another.

We encourage one another.

We are living stones built together.

Even the fruit of the Spirit is largely recognized in relationships. Patience doesn’t mean much in isolation. Neither does forgiveness. Nor bearing with one another in love.

So perhaps “possessing the land” for the Church isn’t merely discovering individual spiritual gifts or private experiences with God. It may also mean entering more deeply into the shared life of Christ’s people.

One more observation.

Joshua’s question is not addressed to Egypt.

It is addressed to Israel.

They are already God’s covenant people.

The obstacle is not God’s unwillingness to give. The obstacle is their hesitation to enter.

That is an important distinction. Many Christians spend years asking God to give what, in Christ, he has already promised. The apostles often pray differently. They ask that believers would know, see, and lay hold of what has already been given.

Finally, I wonder if this is why the passage resonated with you. Over the past months, you’ve reflected often on belonging rather than isolation, on the body of Christ rather than merely individual faith, and on listening-obedience rather than striving. Joshua’s words fit that trajectory remarkably well: not striving to earn an inheritance, but stepping into one that has already been granted. The challenge becomes less, “Can I obtain this?” and more, “Will I walk into what God has already opened before me?”

ChatGPT >

That connection makes sense.

In Matthew 7:1–6, Jesus doesn’t tell His disciples to stop seeing. He tells them to see clearly.

The movement of the passage is striking:

First, notice the log in your own eye. Then, your vision is healed. Then you can help your brother with the speck in his eye.

The goal isn’t withdrawal from your brother. The goal is restored fellowship with your brother.

Many people read the passage as, “Never judge.” Jesus actually ends by telling His disciples not to throw pearls before pigs—a statement that itself requires discernment. So He isn’t abolishing judgment; He’s transforming it. He is replacing a posture of superiority with one of humility.

I wonder whether, for you, there has been another subtle movement.

When you’ve been disappointed by Christians—or perhaps seen hypocrisy, harshness, or immaturity—it can become tempting to conclude, “The church isn’t safe.” There is often truth in the observation: churches do fail each other. But the conclusion can quietly become an argument for remaining at a distance.

Joshua’s question then lands differently:

“How long will you delay going in…?”

Not because the land is perfect.

The promised land still had Canaanites in it.

Entering the land did not mean entering paradise. It meant entering the place where God intended His people to live, despite the unfinished work that remained.

That parallels the Church remarkably well.

The Church isn’t the finished kingdom. It is God’s people in the process of being transformed. There are still “Canaanites,” so to speak—sin, misunderstanding, pride, wounds, immaturity. The New Testament letters are full of them. Yet the apostles never conclude, “Stay away until everyone gets it right.” Instead, they call believers to love, forgive, bear with one another, restore gently, and persevere.

Something else comes to mind from Ephesians 4. Paul says we are to “bear with one another in love.” That phrase assumes there will be things to bear with. If everyone were already mature, there would be nothing to bear.

So perhaps one way of describing “possessing the land” is allowing yourself to belong to an imperfect people because Christ has already made them—and you—His own.

I’m also reminded of something you’ve shared before. You have often written about moving from isolation to belonging. That isn’t just a theme for your website; it seems to have become part of your own pilgrimage.

May I offer one more thought?

Matthew 7 begins with your own eye.

Joshua 18 speaks of entering the land.

John 1 speaks of becoming children of God.

Those aren’t disconnected ideas.

The person who has let Jesus deal with the log in his own eye is often the very person who can enter the life of the Church without either idealizing it or condemning it. He knows his own need of grace, so he isn’t shocked when others need grace too.

That doesn’t make discernment disappear. It actually makes it gentler, more patient, and more hopeful.

It leaves room to say, “This brother disappointed me,” without concluding, “Therefore I have no brothers.”

That feels very close to the heart of the New Testament.