You can find a lot of things at Christian bookstores that have WWJD on them. It stands for What Would Jesus Do? I have some of them - a popper, pen, eraser, kickball. I'm not sure I particularly like that phrase or understand it. Oh, it's popular, for sure. It's a good slogan. It seems to be a good decision-making phrase - What would Jesus do? Ask yourself the question and you'll know just what to do.

Ah, that's where the rub comes for me. I'm not sure that I believe I really will know what to do if I ask myself that question. Am I too cynical? Unbelieving? Faithless? Don't I know how God's word through Jesus is applicable to today's culture and times? But here's the thing, what Jesus did seemed very often, to my understanding, unpredictable. When I ask myself what would Jesus do, will I really know and understand what Jesus would do?

It recently hit me what this is all about. It's not a bad phrase and, in fact, it can be very helpful. But, it isn't what Jesus DID in the everyday lifecycle that was first in importance. Oh sure, He did miracles and told parables. He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He walked on water and saved Peter from drowning. But there is something more terribly important than that. It was who he WAS and IS. He was and is humble. He was and is loving. He was and is a Servant Leader, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, the Living Water, the Rock of Ages, Savior, Friend, Lord, and the great I AM.

What Jesus was and is to the world is the image of God. He came to restore to the world the image of God - an image that had been so badly distorted by people who had decided that what they DID was of paramount importance.

The fact is that Jesus came to show the world that who you are is the determining factor for what you do. What we do is a result of who we are. And,we are created in the image of God! We are a child of God. We are a chosen people. That is awesome. We have to keep reminding ourselves of that when we face life's challenges, when we have to make decisions. You and I are created in the image of God. And that should drive our choices and reactions in life. Let's get the sequence correct.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us: "This is what the LORD says: 'Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteouseness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23, 24

Some food for thought . . . .

Norma Osborn

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