Meditations from Zion

John 15:20a
“Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master….”

For anyone out there who hasn’t seen the flexible wristbands, t-shirts, or bumper stickers, and other “Jesus Junk,” WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do.” (In actuality, this phrase was birthed in an old book entitled In His Steps by Charles Monroe Sheldon back in 1896.

The idea behind the phrase is a sort of “imitation of Christ,” and the challenge is to ask (and answer) this question before taking any action or making any decision. In my view, if people could do this, there would be a lot more saints by now. There are only a few ways that anyone could begin to answer this question authoritatively…

• Know the scriptures, particularly the words of Jesus thoroughly.
• Know the culture and historical context of Jesus’s time period.
• Lay the groundwork for actions by establishing his norms: poverty, self-sacrifice, love, inclusion (for example)

If we can’t do these things, then it’s pretty unlikely that we’ll have much luck with the WWJD mentality.

Instead, I’m thinking I’ll go for a more general guideline, like WWJFD (what would Jesus’s family do)…

In ancient times, when kings and wealthy householders died, they often buried the household with them. The idea was clear, what’s good for the master is good for the family and servants. This is good enough for me.

And so I envision myself in his circle of friends and family. If we could just work together on this process, we would all get further along. Jesus promised that we have the potential to do the works that he did and get the rewards. Jesus also promised that we have the potential to suffer as he did. Jesus recommended we do this as a community.

Answering the WWJD question as an individual will rarely work. Let’s get together.