Dear Friend,
Do you remember when it was cool for Christians to wear wristbands that said WWJD? The initials stood for the words, “What Would Jesus Do?” and that was a movement in the late 1990's to encourage Christians to not just believe in Jesus but to act like Jesus. In 1896, a Congregationalist preacher, Charles Sheldon, wrote a book called IN HIS STEPS – What Would Jesus Do? That book was a call to Christians to show their faith as an outward action toward others and sparked the WWJD? movement in our own generation.
That crusade in the '90's was the rage among youth groups and encouraged Christians of all ages to do what Jesus would do and treat others with the love of Jesus. But the excitement to follow Jesus has faded in many churches today as we have allowed ourselves over the past decade to be reshaped by secular society. And in doing so, the body of Christ is turning our back on God and we are marginalizing our own faith.
Wise Words:
“Christians who permit themselves to be shaped by secular culture
are guilty, not only of betraying God,
but of losing their own true selves.”
W. Paul Jones
Professor, Theologian, Monk.
When we give ourselves over completely and fully to the Holy Spirit, we are motivated by the love of God and that love is manifested toward others. Our Christian faith should be clearly visible in our life and our lifestyle. A Christian lifestyle of good works toward others is the consequence of the state of grace. Our good works is the evidence of the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Gal 5:22-23) in our lives. In Luke 6:43-45, Jesus describes good works as the fruit that comes from the good treasure we have stored up in our heart by God’s grace. If someone were to inspect the fruit produced by your faith, what would they see?
Some of us today may be too old, too cranky or too vain to wear a plastic bracelet that says WWJD? and I admit to being two out of the three. And even in the 1990's when the bracelet was worn by the cool Christians, no one could ever accuse me of being one of the “cool” ones who followed fads and trends.
But, today the trend is for Christians to follow in the footsteps of secular culture and we’re walking in the wrong direction. We need to reverse that trend and start a fad that’s new all over again. The fad to follow in His footsteps and do what He would do! Take a moment and find a post-it or small piece of paper. Write WWJD? in large letters and post it on the bathroom mirror for a week or the refrigerator or maybe on the inside of your front door so that you’ll see it when you leave the house. Then let’s all together watch how this “new” fad to do “what Jesus would do” changes our lives, and be prepared to share some praise reports! AMEN?
