Would Jesus Do That?!?

Back in 1896, a book called In His Steps was published. The story begins with a minister questioning his own actions toward a poor, jobless man who later died. This best-selling book is still a conversation piece among Christians as it centers on one key question, "What would Jesus do?" In the 1980s to 90s, WWJD (what would Jesus do?) was popularized among young evangelicals. Bracelets and T-shirts bore the slogan. 

It turns out that the spirituality of imitating Christ is ancient. Imitatio Dei translated means the imitation of God. In order to do what Jesus would do or to be able to imitate God, a crucial first step for anyone would be to know Jesus. Christians believe that to know Jesus is to know God. We experience conversation with God through the work of the Holy Spirit, preaching of the Gospel and in community with other believers.We believe that from Genesis to Revelation the Scripture points to the nature, character and actions of Jesus. Most of the score of Handel's Messiah is from Old Testament Scriptures which point to Christ.

Of course, if one reads only a snippet of any one story, the impression is limited. For example, "there is no God" exists as a phrase in the Bible. Yet, what comes before it defines the meaning, "The fool says in his heart that there is no God." What came before Jesus is also crucial in understanding who he is and why he did what he did and does what he now does. It was no accident that Jesus was from descendants of King David. The Apostle Paul connects Jesus all the way back to Adam in the Garden of Eden. Though it is true that there are some New Testament Christians, a close look at the entire Bible shows the whole theme heading toward the turning point in history when Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead.

Sadly, many of those who proclaim to be Jesus' followers haven't been all that polished at imitatio Dei, making some of us wonder whether they ever really knew him at all. We are all equal before God as sinners, so none of us can get this completely right. Yet, over the years as one relates to Jesus through Scripture, good sermons, time with godly people, and prayer there develops a certain spiritual intuition. We are not given permission to judge other people as to condemn them, for only God serves in that role; however, we are given discernment between good and evil.

Even atheists with whom I have spoke refer to the evil of our day; yet, without God how would good or evil even be defined? Thankfully, Scripture has much to say about what is good, righteous, just and opposite to those things. No one is able to keep up with every law God commanded or even the big ten, and that is why we need Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. If we say we have given our life to his service and that we follow him and that he is in charge of our lives, we have to then care about what Jesus cares about. 

It has been very hard to be front-and-center watching folks fawn over the forty-fifth and forty-seventh. It is said that evangelical Christians elected him, with recent polls showing their most enthusiastic support of his policies on topics like immigration. Is this the result of bad Bible study? Which churches are these folks attending? Do they attend church at all? Are they reading Scripture at all? Less than a century ago the German church caved to Hitler and stood by as their neighbors were snatched, deported and annihilated. 

In a FOX News interview, JD Vance recently remarked, "There is a Christian concept that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your comunity, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world."  Of course, when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12: 30-31). Pope Leo reportedly said, "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." Amen. 

Jesus goes even farther than that in the Sermon on the Mount, "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." It has been hard to look around these days and see much love for enemies. It seems we are creating more of them as a country, even making enemies of our friends and certainly not showing love. 

For me, WWJD has morphed into the exclamation, "Would Jesus do that?!?" This is the question of our day for Christians, and we had better get it right, or we may be on the wrong operating system as the Reverend Carl Ellis recently put it. Dr. Ellis gave a seminar at our church two weeks ago which was a veritable take-down of Critical Race Theory, because "Would Jesus do that?!?" needs to also be asked of that worldview. What is at the root of modern worldviews? How did the white nationalists arrive at their conclusions? How did Stanford, Harvard, Yale and Princeton grads become net promoters of conspiracy theories? Being rooted in Christ seems to have very little to do with intelligence. 

There are so many circumstances where one needs to apply the question. This will take some pause, some thinking and some work. It is not going to be easy. There are eternal implications. I think I will be writing more on this in weeks to come. There are issues for special consideration. Meanwhile, may everyone stay safe and well and find ways to do good in these dark times.