In His Steps?

"What are you reading to Victoria?"  I asked my oldest daughter, Anna.  It looked like a pretty thick book for a five year old.

"It's a children's version of 'In His Steps,'" Anna answered.

"Does she like it?"  I asked.

"I think so,"  Anna said.  "It has lots of things that would help her be better behaved."

"Oh," I said.  I wasn't altogether sure how well this idea was working.  But my mind turned to the adult version of the book.

In His Steps is a classic book that introduced the question, "What Would Jesus Do?"  I remember, not so many years ago, many people had bracelets with WWJD written on them, I suppose to remind them to ask that question as they did things every day.

In His Steps (the adult version) begins with a tramp who wanders into a town and asks multiple people for help, getting turned down every time.  He then shows up in church and asks the people in the congregation how they claim to be following Christ when they aren't ministering to the needs around them.  Do they mean that they are suffering and denying themselves and trying to save lost humanity, just as Jesus did?

Lately I feel like a homeless man who has wandered into a town called "Facebook."  I read different posts and wonder what is it that separates the Christians here from those who do not claim to be the followers of Christ?  I stand here asking this question and worried that the answer is "Not much."  I would like to think for a little bit about another question, which I think is just as important for our time.

"What didn't Jesus do?"

This is an odd question and one that has lots of random answers.  Jesus didn't drive a car.  He didn't sell drugs.  He didn't eat pizzas or drink coffee or V8 juice.  All of these are probably true, but are beside the point.  There are a few things that stand out to me in this time.

Jesus did not rebel against the Roman government.

Jesus did not live in a society with a democratically elected government, or even a Jewish monarchy.  He lived under a harsh Roman tyranny that had brutalized the Jewish people for decades.  As bad as wearing face masks might seem, the Jews were an occupied state with Roman soldiers watching their every move, ready to imprison them or execute them for doing the wrong thing.

Many of Jesus' disciples were actually men who were looking for rebellion.  They wanted a strong Jewish leader who would overthrow the Romans and kick them out of Palestine.  Certainly Jesus could have started a revolution.  He had power and could easily have a built a political party, but as He told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world."

His focus and the focus of His followers after His death and resurrection was the building of another kingdom -- a kingdom that will survive in spite of war, famine, and pestilence.  I am afraid that His followers today have shifted their vision too much to the kingdoms of this world and not enough on the heavenly city to which they are travelling.

Jesus did not focus on identifying the medical errors of His day.

Doctors weren't very good in Jesus' day.  Not only did they not have many cures for things, but they  often made things worse.  Mark comments about a woman with a bleeding disorder that "She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better.  In fact, she had gotten worse."

I suppose the physicians were doing the best they could, but honestly, they were probably better at describing diseases than treating them.  Jesus did not focus on the doctors who had let their patients down.  He didn't constantly bring up the "broken healthcare system" that was failing the Jewish people.  Instead He saw hurting, sick people and healed them of all their diseases.

Once again, this speaks to me of where we should be at.  It is more important to love than to blame.  It is more important to heal than to find where the fault lies.

Jesus did not live a paranoid life.

Jesus knew that the rulers of the Jews were thinking about killing Him.  He knew that Romans didn't like the Jewish people and would happily kill Him as well.  He said as much to His disciples on several occasions.  He never let this stop Him from carrying out His mission.  He taught, He healed, and when the time was right, He journeyed to Jerusalem, knowing that there was a cross waiting for Him.

I am afraid that Christian people in the United States have become paranoid and afraid.  This is not a time of persecution, but a few inconveniences and a COVID pandemic have been enough to turn the people of God into religious Chicken Littles.  The sky is falling and Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci are doing something terrible and our mission is forgotten and the kingdom is falling on hard times while we meme and blog and Facebook post about the terrible times that are coming.  This was not Jesus' way and should not be ours today.

Jesus did not identify people as "other."

Jesus met and ministered to all of the people He met.  When He saw tax collectors, Gentiles, and even lepers in need, He listened to them and provided forgiveness and healing.  If He was ministering today, He would have welcomed Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to His gatherings.  The important thing to Jesus never was who someone was, what their occupation was, or even their family background.  It was only important to Him that a person saw their need of a Savior and accepted the healing that He offered.

I am afraid that Jesus' people have become a little too good at identifying who is unworthy of receiving Jesus' love and healing and actively push those people away.  Maybe we are different on social media than we are in the real world.  Maybe we shouldn't be.

It is more important to introduce people to Jesus than to win an argument on the internet.  It is far more important to see a soul enter the kingdom than win a debate.

We are in the midst of a crisis today, but it is not a crisis caused by a virus.  It is a crisis that is brought about by Jesus' followers not being willing to walk in His steps.  We are focused on our own needs and desires and fears and not on what will build our Master's kingdom. 

Maybe we have taken our eyes off of our Savior.

Maybe we have too little faith.

Maybe we just need to ask the question.

What would Jesus do?