THE JOURNEY HOME

I know all of you are familar with the acronym, WWJD which became popular in the 1990′s after the idea of WWJD bracelets was begun by the youth group from the Calvary Reformed Church of Holland, Michigan. A lot of people don’t realize, however, that the question “What would Jesus Do?” came from Charles Sheldon’s 1896 book In His Steps. And while it is valid for us to ask ourselves this question mentally in certain situations, sadly the original intent of the youth group that made the first bracelets was not to turn WWJD into a marketing gimmick and to spin an endless series of pop-culture questions seen online from “What would Jesus do for a Klondike bar® ? to other silliness such as What would Chuck Norris do?

However I am not going to ask questions about what Jesus would do. I think we should all be able to look at the questions I will ask and discern what Jesus would do in every situation. No, what I want all of us to do (yes I am taking the test too) is to put our own names in the blank. I will be asking myself, “What would Robert do?” and you will, of course put your own name in the question. And be honest. No one will know your answers except you and God, and you might just discover that there are things you and the Lord might need to work on. We will start with some easier ones and move our way through some more difficult questions.

1. Think of one of your very favorite activities, and imagine that for some reason participation in that activity takes place at the same time your church group is meeting for worship. Now certainly God wants us to enjoy life and there is of course no condemnation for missing worship, but what about the blessings you might miss? Or what if someone else needs the blessing you might provide, or what if the pastor could really use your support? So, what would (Robert) do?

2. Depending on your situation, this question could take place at school, at work, or in a social group in which you participate. Imagine a situation where you can either remain silent and be popular or you take a stand for a Christian viewpoint but at the same time lose a lot of your popularity? Granted this should not be a difficult decision for most of us. But still lets ask ourselves what we would do. (By the way I am going to make you come up with some of the details on some of these questions, so invent your own scenario here.)

3. Okay so far the questions are softballs, but we are going to crank it up now. Think of an electronic gadget, or a vehicle, or something along those lines that you don’t own but would love to own if you could just afford it. It might be a killer computer system with every bell and whistle you can imagine, or a ginormous screen tv complete with a theatre popcorn maker, or even the latest incarnation of iPhone®. To give myself a good challenge I am going to choose a pre-war (WWII) Martin D-28 guitar. (Somewhere around $30,000.) Let’s say you have been saving a long time and have just about enough to buy your dream item. But you get a call from a family member or a best friend, or even someone from your fellowship, and they have an emergency that would require as much money as you have saved. And chances are, you know if you give them the money it would be a long, long time until they paid you back, if indeed they are ever able to. Hmmmm what would Robert do? Would I sacrifice my desires for the needs of a family member or a friend, or a church sister or brother? Or would I figure it is enough to pray for them?

4. We are halfway through but the questions are getting tougher for sure. Lets say you have an extra vehicle, one that you have held on to for some reason though you don’t really need it that much. And let’s say it is almost as good as the vehicle you normally drive, but maybe the a/c is out on it and you can’t afford to get it fixed right now. One day at church service you hear of a brother or sister who needs a vehicle. You realize you have an extra vehicle and the Lord is telling you to give them your spare vehicle. No problem, you think. Though you could sell it for money you would rather someone who needs it have it. But wait! Which do you give away? The one with the working a/c or the one that does not have a working a/c? You can rationalize and say “Well any vehicle is better than not having one at all”. So which would you give?

5. Lets say you own a house and someone in your church fellowship has just become homeless. To have a family move in to your home with your family would make it very crowded and would put a strain on many things including your finances. But on the other hand these are people with no place to go at present. I ask myself “What would Robert do?”

6. Okay one last question but this one is very, very tough. Let us say you are a Christian living in a country where being known as a Christian can make it difficult for you to find a job and could even get you killed? Do you hide the fact that you are a Christian? Or do you boldly let it be known you follow Jesus Christ? Not a choice you would have to make you think? Well Christians do every day in many Muslim countries and many are beaten, even to death for standing on their faith in Jesus. “What, indeed, would Robert do?”

In closing, I am sure you realize by now that the answers to these questions will depend on whether one is a Sunday Christian or a 24/7 Christian. It is easy to state beliefs when there is little or no cost involved but what do we do when there is a cost? I don’t know about all of you but it looks as if the Lord and I have much to work on.

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