What Would Jesus Do? Part 2

The obvious response to this question, is “What DID He do?”  The gospels contain many accounts of what he did, how he preached to the masses, healed the sick, raised the dead, and freed demoniacs from oppression.  This is the aspect of the Master which we all cherish in our memories.  These accounts seem to trump all the others and stand out in our recollection.  And yet there are other chronicled, ones less popular, or perhaps harder to receive or understand.

How many times have we heard this old axiom, “Jesus came preaching love and acceptance.”?  It is usually bandied about by someone who is attempting to browbeat others into accepting their own bad behavior…   While true that the Gospel is an open invitation to all, Jesus had much, much more to say about other topics than simply love and acceptance.  If you read through the gospels, you will find that he taught principally on the Kingdom of Heaven;  What it is like unto, how to participate in, how to receive, and presented examples of the types of people who would inherit it.

Conversely, He pointed out the contrasts between what He, versus what the religious/political leadership of the day was teaching.  He was compassionate to the needy, and those seeking Him, while cutting and scornful of the hypocritical cadre of religious rulers.  On many occasions, He was none too gentle with them.  There were also times when his response to His own disciples obtuseness, or lack of faith, seemed a bit terse.  Many Christians become offended by far less spoken by their own pastors, and leave churches, or start church fights.  Someone recently said that Jesus is not seeking converts, But He is seeking disciples.  I believe this is true, followers who don’t quit when the going gets tough, or when they get their iddy biddy feelings ruffled.

I know this presents a view of Him that tends to make some uncomfortable.  Then there is the sermon on the mount!  You can’t read through it without finding some place to squirm…  Yet, He is the very image of the heart of God.  Since we know that God is Love, then we have to accept that any and all of Jesus’ actions and words were spoken and done in love.

Some would tend to view these things as self contradictory.  I prefer to think of them as paradoxes.  Contradictions have no resolution, while paradoxes can usually be resolved.  As we progress through this series of meditations, we will be examining some of these, teasing them apart for further in depth examination, in order to better know our Lord.

Then when asked, ‘What would Jesus do?’, We will know, and we will be able to give a better answer.
Stay tuned!