Observation, Perspiration or Inspiration:
Growing up in the ‘90s, I remember the Christian catchphrase
“What would Jesus do?” explode in popularity.
WWJD bracelets were in vogue with Christian youth groups. Ah, the ‘90s …
WWJD bracelets might have fallen out of fashion, but “What
would Jesus do” still gets asked quite a lot in some shape or form. It’s a fair question. If you’re a follower of Christ, wouldn’t you
want to know what your leader thinks about any given situation?
Answering the question can be tricky, though. Humility is key. We might think we know how Jesus would act
because we’re students of Scripture. We’ve
read what Jesus has done, so we can just extract principles from those accounts
and apply them to our situation right?
Yes, but if we stop there, we might just miss something.
WWJD, if asked in earnest, is supposed to glorify a person,
not principles. That person is
Jesus. Reducing Jesus to a set of
propositions, even true ones, doesn’t adequately capture who he is. Would it be fair to sum up your friend by
describing her as “the one who loves donuts” or “the one who’s always
late”? Both statements might be true,
but surely there’s more to your friend than that.
The personality of Christ is complex and nuanced. Should we expect anything less of an infinite
God? Assumptions bred by familiarity
stifle revelation about the richness of Jesus’ character and power. Jesus found little honor in his hometown
because the folks who grew up with him assumed they knew who he is. Sadly, they missed out on knowing Jesus as
God.
WWJD is less about obeying conversation-ending commands and
more about dialoguing with the Master.
It’s an invitation to intimacy.
Here are some conversation suggestions for talking to Jesus to get to know him better:
- What’s the Father doing? Jesus said he does nothing except what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19). So what’s the Father up to? What’s his agenda for the situation at hand? It might differ or transcend the issue prompting us to ask WWJD.
- Don’t underestimate what Jesus can do. WWJD isn’t simply a morality question. It’s also a question of power. What Jesus can do affects what he would do. Sometimes the range of responses we deem appropriate is shaped by limits we place on God’s power. We think, “this must be the right choice because there’s no other way.” What should you do with a hungry crowd of 5,000 staying late to listen to Jesus teach? The disciples thought the right thing to do is send the crowd away because they didn’t have enough money to feed them. What did Jesus do? Tell the disciples to feed them and then proceed to multiply food miraculously. Jesus’ supernatural power shaped the response.
- What’s the character of Jesus? Acting like Jesus means aligning with his character. Even if an action has a ring of righteousness to it, if it’s out of step with Jesus’ character, that’s a red flag. For example, Jesus is life-giving. (John 10:10). If a response to an action destroys life, consider if it’s right in Jesus’ eyes.
- Why do you ask? The answer to WWJD cannot be separated from the motivation behind the question. Do we ask out of a sincere desire to please the Father’s heart? Or are we wielding the question as a rebuke to bring others in line with personal notions of how Christians ought to act? What would Jesus do with those who are “out of line?”
Prayer:
Jesus, we want to know you better. Thank you that you reveal yourselves to others who draw near to you. We need you more than ever, and we come close to you so that our heart might become like yours and that we might show your love to a heartbroken world. In your name we pray, Amen.An Idea:
Read about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-26 and
prayerfully meditate on it. How is God
ministering to you after his heart? How
can you minister to others after his heart?
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