It was the Christmas of ‘94 when my parents gave me the children’s version of In His Steps, retitled What Would Jesus Do? Getting a book for Christmas made me feel rather grown-up, although I spent most of my time looking at the illustrations and listening to my mom read to me at bedtime.
At some point, I circled the last paragraph of the book: ”And Jack had a special dream. In his dream he traveled everywhere, watching and listening. All over the world, he found churches and homes where men and women, girls and boys would always ask: What would Jesus do? When Jack awoke, he prayed: “Lord Jesus, let this dream come true!”
I spend plenty of time trying to see things from other peoples’ points of view and trying to get them to see things from my own, but sometimes I forget to try to see things as Jesus would. Why should we bother to try and see things from Jesus’ perspective?
The study of Christ’s life and character is fundamental to our faith walk, because He exemplifies the character of God, played out in real life, and recorded in the Gospels for all to see. Jesus’ ministry was transformative. He healed, connected, taught, and lived with such passion and integrity and love for God’s will that it shook up a nation, an empire, and the course of human events.
Christianity isn’t meant to be a fantastical set of beliefs that have no practical expression. Christ’s invitation to the disciples to “Come, follow me” provided an opportunity for mortal men to see the immortal God interacting with His Creation in very practical ways.
He wanted His twelve disciples to see things with new eyes, sometimes rebuking them when they got caught up with seeing things in the wrong light or with selfish ends in mind. The transformation seemed to be a hard slog until they surrendered their own viewpoints and embraced the Holy Spirit’s help. When those changes came, the disciples began to speak and act much more like Jesus.
Jesus’ point of view is offered to us, as His disciples through the renewing of our minds. Whether there is an area of personal struggle, relationship trouble, marital turmoil, or confusion of any kind it is always worth surrendering our own viewpoint, embracing the Holy Spirit, and asking, “What would Jesus do?”
Perhaps the answer won’t be clear at first, but pressing in to find it will bring us nearer to the heart of God. And as we travel that way, we will find more personal and corporate alignment and unity as we seek to see with the eyes of Christ.
