Jesus Would ______

WWJD bracelets were exiting their popularity when I was entering adolescence.

I still remember my brother’s special cotton-stitched lanyard hanging up in our entryway, brandishing the popular slogan.

“What Would Jesus Do” didn’t appear for the first time in the 90s with those “flashy” bracelets, but rather, for its SECOND time. Well known Minister Charles Spurgeon was first credited for coining the phrase in a sermon in 1891, referencing Thomas à Kempis’ earlier work Imitatio Christi (The Imitation of Christ) from the 15th century. The phrase picked up popularity five years later when Charles Sheldon released his novel What Would Jesus Do? which would go on to sell more than 30 million copies. Unlike Spurgeon, Sheldon’s theology would later help shape the Christian Socialist and Social Gospel movements. 

While thankfully I was never one of the kids who was constantly coining the term in public, I had friends who did and the question’s begging was consistently swimming in my mind. I was constantly wondering how Jesus wanted me to be interacting with the world around me. Consequently, I did my darndest to give those around me the BEST experience they could have with Jesus by giving them the next best thing: Me. Since Jesus wasn’t here in “the flesh”, I figured He left us Christians so we could continue to look good for Him as He used us goody-two-shoes to draw people to himself. The implications of the acronym WWJD suggested to myself and other adherents that we could in fact “save the world” by acting more like Jesus would in each scenario in our lives. 

On occasion, my mind will drift amongst the stars as I ponder some of life’s questions. Sometimes they are philosophical and deep. Most times, they aren’t. Part of the residue from that childhood WWJD question poses its same challenges during these musings in present day scenarios:

“Would Jesus drive an electric car?”

“Would Jesus support Israel or Palestine?”

“Who would Jesus vote for?”

“Would Jesus date this person?” (weird, but you get the gist)

“Would Jesus accept this job?”

“Would Jesus watch TV?”

“Would Jesus spend money on this?”

While this may be a worthwhile exercise for some, my mind feels like it’s on one of those exercise bikes we keep in our basements that gets used once every three to five years. It feels like you’re trying so hard to make progress and yet you get nowhere. 

Let me ask you a question: When it comes to your spiritual journey, who made the first move? 

You or Jesus? 

There’s plenty to be said about God using our intentions for his purposes, but I think a helpful verse to address this question without all the theological debate is found in 1 John 4:19.

“We love because He first loved us” (emphasis mine)

So if Jesus was the first person to make His move towards us in love, why would the finishing of that initial work be required by us? Well, it’s not. In fact, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). And if there’s nothing for us to finish, there’s nothing for us to prove. Jesus will continue to draw people to Himself. His Spirit will continue to live in and through our lives and church communities as HE does the changing and impacting, being willing to use us as His handiwork along the way. 

In other words, a spatula is not responsible for how a hamburger tastes. 

So the next time you hear someone ask “What would Jesus Do?”, you could respond with something like:

Thankfully, none of the things we do. 

He went to Hell and back for us, something we could never do. Let’s sit back and continue to watch Him work, and rejoice as He uses us along the way.