What Would Jesus Do?
By Jeff Himmel
By Jeff Himmel
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
A few years ago I started noticing bracelets, t-shirts, and bumper stickers that simply read, “WWJD.” Today they’re everywhere. The letters stand for a question: “What would Jesus do?”
It’s a noble question. Christians, by definition, are to be like Jesus (see Romans 8:29). If the Son of God has first place in our hearts and actions, we’ll frequently find ourselves asking, “What would Jesus do?” What would Jesus do if He faced this temptation? What would Jesus do with this opportunity? What would Jesus do in response to this challenge? What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes?
God calls on us to imitate Jesus’ perfect example (see 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Corinthians 11:1). So whenever we ask, “What would Jesus do?” we’re also asking, “What would Jesus want me to do?” If we don’t truthfully answer the first question, we won’t have a clue about the second. This, I think, is where we often mess up: we don’t think seriously about what Jesus would do, because deep down we fear that it’s not what we would do. I think about that when I see a WWJD bumper sticker on a car, then notice that the driver is screaming obscenities at someone who cut him off in traffic.
What would Jesus do? How we arrive at the answer to that question is just as important as asking it. It’s pretty easy to let “What would Jesus do?” change into “What would I like to imagine Jesus doing?” or even “What do I wish I could get Jesus to do?” I can form an inaccurate picture of Christ that’s based on my own preferences and prejudices. Again, it does no good to ask the question if I won’t answer it truthfully.
So how can I know what Jesus would do? How can anyone know? The answer is to look at what He actually did. And what He said. And what His chosen apostles did and said by His authority. Those things are recorded for us in the New Testament. If the question is “What would Jesus do?” we must look for the answer in that divinely revealed record. Anything else is just guesswork. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him” (1 Corinthians 2:16)? When we learn what Christ and His apostles did and said, we then must apply their teachings and examples to our own lives.
A word of caution: What Jesus did made Him unpopular. His actions and words sometimes shocked, offended, and angered people. As He said, “the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). It follows that people who imitate Jesus will often seem out of step and out of touch. As in Jesus’ day, those who are comfortable in sin will resent those who, by word and example, beckon them to leave it.
Watch for future essays that will ask, “What would Jesus do?” in various areas of life. If you’re a follower of Christ, we hope you’ll be challenged and encouraged to be more like Him every day. If you’re not a follower of Christ, or if you don’t know where you stand, we hope you’ll be challenged to think seriously about how very different Jesus was and is, about how different He calls us to be, and about the difference He will make in your life.
A few years ago I started noticing bracelets, t-shirts, and bumper stickers that simply read, “WWJD.” Today they’re everywhere. The letters stand for a question: “What would Jesus do?”
It’s a noble question. Christians, by definition, are to be like Jesus (see Romans 8:29). If the Son of God has first place in our hearts and actions, we’ll frequently find ourselves asking, “What would Jesus do?” What would Jesus do if He faced this temptation? What would Jesus do with this opportunity? What would Jesus do in response to this challenge? What would Jesus do if He were in my shoes?
God calls on us to imitate Jesus’ perfect example (see 1 Peter 2:21; 1 Corinthians 11:1). So whenever we ask, “What would Jesus do?” we’re also asking, “What would Jesus want me to do?” If we don’t truthfully answer the first question, we won’t have a clue about the second. This, I think, is where we often mess up: we don’t think seriously about what Jesus would do, because deep down we fear that it’s not what we would do. I think about that when I see a WWJD bumper sticker on a car, then notice that the driver is screaming obscenities at someone who cut him off in traffic.
What would Jesus do? How we arrive at the answer to that question is just as important as asking it. It’s pretty easy to let “What would Jesus do?” change into “What would I like to imagine Jesus doing?” or even “What do I wish I could get Jesus to do?” I can form an inaccurate picture of Christ that’s based on my own preferences and prejudices. Again, it does no good to ask the question if I won’t answer it truthfully.
So how can I know what Jesus would do? How can anyone know? The answer is to look at what He actually did. And what He said. And what His chosen apostles did and said by His authority. Those things are recorded for us in the New Testament. If the question is “What would Jesus do?” we must look for the answer in that divinely revealed record. Anything else is just guesswork. “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him” (1 Corinthians 2:16)? When we learn what Christ and His apostles did and said, we then must apply their teachings and examples to our own lives.
A word of caution: What Jesus did made Him unpopular. His actions and words sometimes shocked, offended, and angered people. As He said, “the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). It follows that people who imitate Jesus will often seem out of step and out of touch. As in Jesus’ day, those who are comfortable in sin will resent those who, by word and example, beckon them to leave it.
Watch for future essays that will ask, “What would Jesus do?” in various areas of life. If you’re a follower of Christ, we hope you’ll be challenged and encouraged to be more like Him every day. If you’re not a follower of Christ, or if you don’t know where you stand, we hope you’ll be challenged to think seriously about how very different Jesus was and is, about how different He calls us to be, and about the difference He will make in your life.
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