HWJD?

So I was a little frustrated at some stuff/people recently and got to thinking, How Would Jesus Deal?…or for the acronym-minded: HWJD?*

That’s when my head started hurting…

• Jesus dealt with life, family, school, church, work, people situations, the “stuff” of life…just like me.
• He ate, slept, cried, had conversation, traveled, lead people, relaxed, laughed, prayed, spent time alone and with people, faced adversity, had an adoptive father (Joseph),…just like me.  (FYI: my adoptive Father is God [Ephesians 1:4-6])
• He had feelings: anger, happiness, sadness, concern,sympathy,…just like me.

BUT…

• Unlike me…He was perfect.
• Unlike me…He was sinless.
• Unlike me…He was holy.

So, HWJD?

How Would Jesus Deal with being, as I put it above, “a little frustrated at some stuff/people”?

There are a TON of passages in the Bible that speak about this, but one immediately comes to mind.  It’s a passage that talks about an attitude that was evident in Jesus’ life and one that is really is the essence of “dealing”.  To the “expert in the law” who tested Him, Jesus offered this framework for living a life that worships God:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12:30-31

Jesus was the perfect example of living this passage.  In spite of all the similarities with me (you, us) listed above, it’s the differences that set Him apart.  He loved and obeyed His Father and unconditionally loved the people with whom He “dealt” – the ones He created.  We do well to stumble and mumble at doing those things…

Will trying to live Mark 12:30-31 out and follow Jesus’ example make things magically better?  I think we all know the answer: no.  But, living out this passage through the power of the Holy Spirit enables me (you, us) to dependently fulfill our purpose in life: bringing God glory through a life of worship (Colossians 1:16).

So, HWiD? (How Will i Deal?)

Well, Jesus set the watermark.  I know full well that I cannot get close to it.  But, that does not exempt me from striving to follow Jesus’ example (through the conviction (John 16:10) and enabling power (Philippians 4:13) of the Holy Spirit).

In fact, not striving for this watermark is…well, sin:

Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do [think Mark 12:30-31, at a minimum] and doesn’t do it, sins.

James 4:17

Thank God for His grace, mercy, and forgiveness:

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Maranatha!

So…  HWuD?

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*HWJD? OR How Would Jesus Deal? – not to be confused with HWJD (How Would Jesus Drive). In writing this post, I wanted to see other uses for “HWJD”…this site was at the top of the internet search.