What would Jesus do?

The article you are about to read simply voices my opinion and not that of any existing religious group or movement (not even Deeperlife’s). Any similarities to existing groups is purely coincidental.

Last Wednesday, I did an introductory blog post on these series. The post generated a bit of controversy particularly about my reasons for not being a Christian. Initially, I wanted to go the Noktah Hitam route but I realised that would only help the already bad opinion stronger. While I’ll refrain from trying to justify my statements further, I hope this and further posts would help shed more light on my opinion.

When I was much younger, Mum got me a copy of Charles M. Sheldon’s ‘In His Steps: What would Jesus do’. The two-hundred-and-fifty-something-page book took me a while to read and turned out to be one of the most interesting stories I’ve ever read. It talked about a group of people who vowed to always ask themselves if what Jesus would do if he were in their position and not do otherwise. What these individuals did not realize early enough was that this was a life-altering decision with un-planned results awaiting them. The underlying message was clear though: Living in Christ’s steps.

Origin The idea behind ‘WWJD’ has always existed for centuries as a form of imitatio dei, the imitation of God. It got a much greater following after Sheldon’s book and inspired a youth group from some North American church to actually take vows to practice it. Subsequently, they wore cloth bracelets as a tangible reminder. As their popularity grew, the bracelets were mass-marketed, causing the retail revolution that we see today.

Importance When Jesus told his disciples in Luke 13:24 that many would seek to enter in the strait gate but would not be able to do so, he sure wasn’t kidding. It’s not easy to truly forsake worldly pleasures and stick to living in Christ’s steps.

Let’s take the “proposition 8” for example. Voters against gay marriages won by a measly 4%. Why? Where was everyone? If all the true believers in the US stood up for what God calls marriage, there would be no debate whatsoever. Funny enough, many ‘christians’ decided to stay out of the whole issue because they felt it was better to stick to the church and leave politics alone. But even Jesus didn’t refrain from voicing out on political matters during his time. In fact, many churches have now affirmed homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle. Would Jesus do that?

According to allaboutfollowingjesus.org, the answer to the question ‘What would Jesus do’ depends on whether we truly know Jesus enough to determine what he would do if in our exact situation. Knowing Jesus begins with reading about His life and teachings in the Bible. However, reading the Bible as literature alone only helps us to learn about Jesus. To truly know Him requires a personal, spiritual relationship with Him. That isn’t tough either. It just takes opening up your heart to him. Rev 3:20.

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