WWJD?

You don't see much of it anymore, WWJD?( what would Jesus do?) When I was working at a Christian bookstore from 1999 to 2004, the fad was at its peak.... and yes, it was a fad. The majority of people wearing the t-shirts, bracelets, or one of the other umpteen items it was on didn't truly live what they were advertising.

  WWJD? has faded into the dustbin of history along with The Prayer of Jabez, Testamints, and other Christian fads. It has been replaced with statements of what Jesus would or would not do.

Jesus wouldn't bomb Baghdad (Meryl Streep)

Jesus would go to a gay wedding and be OK with homosexuality, as long as it is love.

Jesus would drink beer.

Jesus would vote Democrat

Jesus would vote Republican.

Jesus would welcome the refugees into the country

Jesus would vote for Donald Trump

Jesus would be Cathlolic

Jesus would be Calvnist

And so on.

   If we think about it and are really honest, all too many times what Jesus would or would not do amazingly lines up with our ideals and beliefs. We vote Republican, so Jesus would. We vote Democrat, so Jesus would. We drink beer, so Jesus would. We don't drink alcoholic beverages, so Jesus wouldn't. We are OK with gay marriage, so Jesus is OK with it.

 We have basically made Jesus into our own image, and that image looks a lot like us....or just like us. Instead of molding our life to what the Bible says and praying to be like Jesus, we make Him like us. He has our views, our beliefs, our likes, and our dislikes.

  Of course there are some things that you can prove Biblically that Jesus would or would not do, but all too often we let our feelings dictate what He would or would not do. And all too often we use what we feel He would do to try to affect an outcome we want. We want Trump for president, so we keep saying Jesus would vote for him. We want gay marriage legalized, so we say Jesus would be OK with it. Whatever suits our wishes and agenda, Jesus would be on board with it. We all do it. Whether conservative Christian, liberal Christian, sinner, or even atheist....WWJD? becomes something we use to get what we want.

  There was a married couple who had a table and spoke at a conference I attended in June of 2013 and 2014. They started a website and have some materials to go along with it to present a new idea: WJD - what Jesus did. That is a lot easier to prove than what He WOULD do. All we have to do is read the Gospels, for they are full of what Jesus did. I like that idea better. It isn't as easy to fit Jesus into our mold and likeness if we focus on what He did, instead of what we think He would do.

  If we did what Jesus did, and didn't spend so much time saying what He would do, then maybe we would be more like Jesus, instead of making Him more like us.