what would Jesus do?
it’s a pretty common acronym for an underrated question: wwjd?
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it’s june.
i’m in america.
summer break started today.
wwjd?
let’s just imagine Jesus lived in modern times, in your hometown, and in your specific day-to-day routine. would His life look different than it did according to the gospels? obviously, it would to some extent-riding a donkey down a jam packed LA freeway doesn’t really make the cut of 21st century standards. but what i mean is would Jesus still be Jesus? if He were to listen when you listen, walk where you walk, move when you move, help where you help, forgive when you forgive- would matthew still be able to recognize Him or would peter deny Jesus a fourth time? the point i’m trying to make here is this: Jesus is not only Jesus because of His divine heritage, but because of His faithfulness to do all God asked of Him. it is His obedience to God that set Jesus apart. it is His obedience that allowed for the blind to see. it is His obedience that saved the woman at the well. it is His obedience that placed a crown of thorns on His head. notice a trend? Jesus is Jesus because He took physical steps and tangible actions to reflect and share the depth of God’s love to those around Him. Jesus did not just wake up in His dad’s woodshop and stay in bed. How would the people at the temple ever taste freedom? Jesus did not just sit idly by and watch people stress out. How would the wedding guests enjoy wine instead of water? Jesus did not just pass by the homeless man on the street. How would the paralytic fold up His mat and walk? the answer? they wouldn’t. if Jesus had not obeyed and taken risks to intentionally go out and love on people, then Jesus would not have been Jesus. so this takes me back to the earlier question: if Jesus lived in your shoes for a day, would His ministry look different? ya, healing someone’s broken leg may not be a regular occurrence but is the church today making an effort to love as intentionally, sacrificially, and boldly as Christ did two thousand years ago? the greatest commandments in the Bible are to love God and love others; do our lives show that we make the time and effort for that calling to become a reality noticed by people who don’t know Christ? because that is the life of a christian. this is something God taught me very recently: everyone is called to be a missionary in whatever place God decides to plant them, whether that be in the deserts of Africa or an office in New York, because Christian living is misional living. living with an open mind, a ready heart, and searching eyes to share God’s love in even the tiniest of ways- to build relationships with people at a coffee shop, to give food to a person on the side of the road, to open a door for someone. you never know what God will use and what doors God can open when you step out in faith and intentionally decide to love on your family, friends, and strangers. i leave in three months and to love as courageously as Jesus did has been my prayer for the past couple weeks. i want to live like Jesus loved and i don’t have to wait till i get to a foreign country in september to do that.
it’s june.
i’m in america.
wwjd?
hwlf.
He would love first.
//john 13:35//john 1:17//
