To occupy this land is a command we have been given. Most people do not view commands from as "mandatory". The military trains folks to reorder their thinking and creates a hierarchy of verbal instructions. "Command" is the top dog. The no-negotiating, you- WILL-do-this-or-sufferconsequences type of dog.

Numbers 33:53 commands us: "take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy". The consequences of not possessing the land? Verse 55 - But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live (NLT).

In life, we sometimes learn that living by example is generally most effective in persuading someone to do a thing.

But children are a different kind of example. They mostly say what they are thinking and ask questions about things they are curious about until we teach them "proper social etiquette".

I was watching my daughter make bracelets with her aunt one day. They were chatting about this and that when suddenly Lianna asked "do you go to church?" Her aunt said, "no, I don't". To which Lianna replied, "then how do you get close to God?"

I thought about this for a long time. Lianna didn't ask to be in this land. I chose that for her. Lianna didn't ask to fight this battle. It was chosen for her. In my ineffectiveness at "driving out the people who live in the land" she has been handed a fight that needs fighting.

Phrases like "occupying the land" and "driving out people" are not,

in my opinion, as black and white as they seem. By asking about faith and practice specifically toward God, Lianna has embodied this scripture. She is standing for what she knows and believes and making sure "the people of this land" understand where she falls on the whole God thing. She's been a different kind of example to me for a long time. In this situation she has redefined for me what "occupy" means. My hope is that you will also redefine occupy.