What would Jesus do? What would you do?

I read the book “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon in two days.  I could have read it in one day or even one afternoon, but gone are the days when I could immerse myself totally in a book.  There are just too many distractions these days  - principally the many Korean dramas available online and the DVDs that I bought from Amazon.   

Still, the book engaged me as before when I read it for the first time years ago.   It tells in story-form the pledge made by a group of Christians to do everything in their daily lives after asking the question,  “What Jesus would do?”, regardless of the result to them.   What would a newspaper editor do when he considers the loss of revenue from ceasing advertisements on liquor and tobacco?  What would a rich heiress do to help the needy with her wealth when she considers her family opposition and societal gossip?  What would a railroad superintendent do with the discovery of a commercial breach of law when he considers the loss of his job after whistle-blowing?  ….. 

The situations faced by the Christians in the book are fictional.  The book was written more than a hundred years ago in 1896; the situations depicted may not even be relevant in our modern world today.  Yet, each of us remains challenged in our daily lives – What would Jesus do?  What would we do? 

 

As I ponder over these questions, I recall what 3 young girls did recently in Dec 2012.  They were part of the short-term missions team to Northern Thailand.  They are modern, fashionable, accustomed to urban conveniences ….. unexpected volunteers to rough it out in the tribal villages up in the mountains.  They most likely did not consider the question, “What would Jesus do?”, when they made the decision to go.  But what they did in Maetoh – showing love to the orphans and school children - demonstrated what Jesus did in His earthly life. 

 

The girls’ love for the Maetoh children reflects Jesus’ love for us, for the children of the world. 

“We love because he first loved us.  If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar.  For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.  And he has given this command:  Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”  (1 John 4:19-21)

These 3 young girls have committed to go to Maetoh again in 2013.  They see the children’s need for love; they are not deterred by the unappetizing food, the murky water in the bath water, the winding mountain roads and bumpy dirt tracks which send some into dizzy spells, nausea and vomiting despite the anti-motion pills, …….  It’s as if they have asked themselves the questions : “What would Jesus do?”  “What would they do?”

 

And what would I do?  That’s another story …..