WWJD?

Dear Friend,

Waterloo Works, John Deere. Grew up practically in its shadow. So I probably should have seen the bracelets coming. I'm often on the wrong end of a trend.

The other night at work, I noticed one of the young men that I work with, whose name is James, wearing a rubber bracelet that was labeled W.W.J.D?  He’s smart and hardworking, so I asked him if he could get the rest of the guys similar bracelets.  I told him that I figured they could all stand to stop and ask “What would James do?” before they made some of their decisions.  “Um, that’s not what it means,” he said, not sure if I was kidding.  I was, of course.  You probably remember the plastic bracelets that were all the rage a few years back.  They, of course, stand for “What Would Jesus Do?”  Those bracelets were a phenomenon that swept the nation.  The craze started in the 1990’s and in 1994 alone, as many as 9,000,000 were sold by one company.  But strangely, although estimates are that between fifteen and fifty million bracelets have been sold worldwide since the craze began, the world hasn’t widely changed. 

Why do you think that is?  Maybe, just maybe, it’s because what people think Jesus would do is very different than what Jesus would actually do.  Several years ago, author Phillip Yancy wrote a powerful book called, “The Jesus I never knew.”  He suggests that most people have a vision of Jesus that is something quite different than the real thing.   Yancy writes

When Jesus came to earth, demons recognized him, the sick flocked to him, and sinners doused his feet and head with perfume. Meanwhile he offended pious Jews with their strict preconceptions of what God should be like. Their rejection makes me wonder, could religious types be doing just the reverse now? Could we be perpetuating an image of Jesus that fits our pious expectations but does not match the person portrayed so vividly in the Gospels?

Rather than the Living God in human flesh, Yancy writes, we often have given the world the idea that Jesus is more like Mr. Rogers with a beard—a nice man who does and says nice things. 

The thing is, if we truly dive in, and listen to what Jesus says to us, in His own words,  Jesus often says something that completely surprises us.  He often says things that challenge us.  Sometimes, he even says things that cause us to question how we’re acting or doing business.  We’re going to look at four different passages—one from each of the Gospels—where Jesus does what is surprising- different—and new—as He brings Grace and Light and Truth and Life into our world.  And so often, what He has to say, is different than what we’d think. 

At least its something to think about.

just spake,

me