WWJD?
I don't know about y'all, but I ditched the whole WWJD fad a long time ago because I thought it was only meant to make the person stating it feel pious and the person being asked it feel guilty. I'm really not about condemning people as means of making myself look awesome.
--->However, today it dawned on me that there is still something really great about asking, What Would Jesus Do? Have you ever struggled with how to know whether you're walking in the Spirit or fumbling in the flesh? That is, am I acting the way I should as one who has been saved and changed by Christ or am I acting in a way that gives no evidence of His presence in my life? Think about it. What does the Spirit do? The Spirit manifests the life of Christ in us (2 Cor. 4:10-12), and produces Christ-likeness in us like the classic "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23). If I'm wondering, "is this me or is this God's Spirit?", I simply think "is this something Christ would do?" If I'm doing something that Christ wouldn't, then it's not Him and I'm not walking in the Spirit. It's not always easy to answer "What would Jesus do", but it's not always hard either and I don't want to dismiss that.
And here's what makes it even easier - Christ gave us a great lens through which we can look at our situations and identify what's going on there. I don't usually have to look much further to understand the nature of my situation than to look at this:
Jesus said, all of the law is summed up in this - in fact, this is the greatest commandment - in fact, it's a new commandment, and by this people will know you are a follower of Christ -
Love.
Love God with all your heart.
Love your neighbor.
Love one another.
And Christ weren't no wimp, mind you. In the words of Andy Stanley, Jesus grew up around rotting corpses on Roman crosses all His life. They weren't just something He read about either, they were something He smelled, He walked by them countless times and this kind of death was feared among the Galileans and Judeans. And at 30-something years old, He walked right into Jerusalem knowing that He was going to experience the same thing those rotting corpses hanging on Roman crosses did. You wouldn't do that. So Jesus didn't say to love people because He was wuss and just wanted everybody to stop fighting and share their toys. He proved that love isn't always easy. It's not easy to cover a multitude of sins with love.
And then we have a great enumeration of what love is in 1 Corinthians 13. Yep, I'm gonna go there. Think about it.
>>Love is patient.
Think of that person that's really frustrating you right now, are you being patient with them?
>>Love is kind.
>>Love does not envy.
Are you battling some serious envy? My friend Lisa often reminds me that "Comparison is the thief of Joy"(Teddie Roosevelt) It's so true. Who is that just sucks the joy right out of you?
>>Love does not boast.
>>Love is not proud.
= ie. Love is humble. Do you need to humble yourself before someone? Have you been trying to put up a good front so they'll think really great things about you? I think sometimes being humble with someone may put us at risk for a little humiliation - will you be willing to go through that for them?
>>Love is not rude.
I certainly take that for granted. I let me myself snub people who I think deserve it sometimes. But do I get to pick and choose who to love?
>>Love doesn't insist on getting its own way.
Can we learn to prefer each other above ourselves? (Phil. 2:3-4)
>>Love isn't irritable.
>>Love doesn't keep a record of wrongs/ is not resentful.
>>Love doesn't rejoice at wrong-doing.
You know sometimes I'm just glad when someone gets what I felt they had coming. When that ridiculously aggressive driver gets rear-ended at the next red light. Should I really be rejoicing at their misfortune? Shouldn't I be grieved they're struggling so bad, or that they didn't change before negative consequences began to hit?
>>Love rejoices in the truth.
>>Love bears all things.
Share a burden lately? Take the time to let someone just dump on you. And help them lift that burden to Christ.
>>Love believes all things.
>>Love hopes all things.
Who's that person you refuse to hear a hypocritical word from? You're tired of them saying one thing and doing another. Can you give them another chance? and another? and another?
>>Love endures all things.
Maybe you retreat and say you just can't take it anymore. You're totally right. You can't, Christ can. Is it Jessica who produces this kind of enduring love, or does Christ give me strength to endure all things? (Phil 4:13)
>>Love never ends. It never fails.
That's what Jesus does. All of that. So if you dealing with someone or something and you're trying to figure out how to glorify God in your response or actions, you've got your answer. If you struggle with these, and let's face it, we all have our struggle with at least one of these, realize that it's a matter of putting your dead body that died with Christ back in the grave where it belongs and walking in the life of Christ who dwells in you. Let Jesus do what Jesus does. Love.
--->However, today it dawned on me that there is still something really great about asking, What Would Jesus Do? Have you ever struggled with how to know whether you're walking in the Spirit or fumbling in the flesh? That is, am I acting the way I should as one who has been saved and changed by Christ or am I acting in a way that gives no evidence of His presence in my life? Think about it. What does the Spirit do? The Spirit manifests the life of Christ in us (2 Cor. 4:10-12), and produces Christ-likeness in us like the classic "fruit of the Spirit" (Gal. 5:22-23). If I'm wondering, "is this me or is this God's Spirit?", I simply think "is this something Christ would do?" If I'm doing something that Christ wouldn't, then it's not Him and I'm not walking in the Spirit. It's not always easy to answer "What would Jesus do", but it's not always hard either and I don't want to dismiss that.
And here's what makes it even easier - Christ gave us a great lens through which we can look at our situations and identify what's going on there. I don't usually have to look much further to understand the nature of my situation than to look at this:Jesus said, all of the law is summed up in this - in fact, this is the greatest commandment - in fact, it's a new commandment, and by this people will know you are a follower of Christ -
Love.
Love God with all your heart.
Love your neighbor.
Love one another.
And Christ weren't no wimp, mind you. In the words of Andy Stanley, Jesus grew up around rotting corpses on Roman crosses all His life. They weren't just something He read about either, they were something He smelled, He walked by them countless times and this kind of death was feared among the Galileans and Judeans. And at 30-something years old, He walked right into Jerusalem knowing that He was going to experience the same thing those rotting corpses hanging on Roman crosses did. You wouldn't do that. So Jesus didn't say to love people because He was wuss and just wanted everybody to stop fighting and share their toys. He proved that love isn't always easy. It's not easy to cover a multitude of sins with love.
And then we have a great enumeration of what love is in 1 Corinthians 13. Yep, I'm gonna go there. Think about it.
>>Love is patient.
Think of that person that's really frustrating you right now, are you being patient with them?
>>Love is kind.
>>Love does not envy.
Are you battling some serious envy? My friend Lisa often reminds me that "Comparison is the thief of Joy"(Teddie Roosevelt) It's so true. Who is that just sucks the joy right out of you?
>>Love does not boast.
>>Love is not proud.
= ie. Love is humble. Do you need to humble yourself before someone? Have you been trying to put up a good front so they'll think really great things about you? I think sometimes being humble with someone may put us at risk for a little humiliation - will you be willing to go through that for them?
>>Love is not rude.
I certainly take that for granted. I let me myself snub people who I think deserve it sometimes. But do I get to pick and choose who to love?
>>Love doesn't insist on getting its own way.
Can we learn to prefer each other above ourselves? (Phil. 2:3-4)
>>Love isn't irritable.
>>Love doesn't keep a record of wrongs/ is not resentful.
>>Love doesn't rejoice at wrong-doing.
You know sometimes I'm just glad when someone gets what I felt they had coming. When that ridiculously aggressive driver gets rear-ended at the next red light. Should I really be rejoicing at their misfortune? Shouldn't I be grieved they're struggling so bad, or that they didn't change before negative consequences began to hit?
>>Love rejoices in the truth.
>>Love bears all things.
Share a burden lately? Take the time to let someone just dump on you. And help them lift that burden to Christ.
>>Love believes all things.
>>Love hopes all things.
Who's that person you refuse to hear a hypocritical word from? You're tired of them saying one thing and doing another. Can you give them another chance? and another? and another?
>>Love endures all things.
Maybe you retreat and say you just can't take it anymore. You're totally right. You can't, Christ can. Is it Jessica who produces this kind of enduring love, or does Christ give me strength to endure all things? (Phil 4:13)
>>Love never ends. It never fails.
That's what Jesus does. All of that. So if you dealing with someone or something and you're trying to figure out how to glorify God in your response or actions, you've got your answer. If you struggle with these, and let's face it, we all have our struggle with at least one of these, realize that it's a matter of putting your dead body that died with Christ back in the grave where it belongs and walking in the life of Christ who dwells in you. Let Jesus do what Jesus does. Love.
Love your heart, girl! Makes me think of the verses I've been memorizing in 2 Peter 1...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jessica, for taking the time to bare your heart. We're praying that God will grant you from his abundance, your every need.
ReplyDelete