WWJD? seriously!?

Oh how I remember those WWJD? bracelets from middle school... I wasn't a Christian then and thought they were pretty lame... especially because the people who I saw wearing them didn't really act how I presume Jesus would act. (I think about Jesus as a pre-teen... how did he live through that age and NEVER SIN!? amazing!)

God has been showing me lately how much I do NOT live like Christ. God (Jesus) became man to live among us and give us an example of how to lead our lives. I had this "lightbulb moment" the other week about those "challenging people" in our lives... about those who sometimes bother us more than others or who get on our nerves more than they should. I had a realization of this: Jesus lived the MOST relational life of anyone who has ever lived! He hung out with prostitutes, tax collectors, hypocrites, religious leaders who glorified themselves... He was doubted, scoffed at, betrayed, murdered... He lived among people who I imagine are heaps more challenging than those I live among... YET, he never sinned! He never responded to sin with sin. never ever!

In all this realization, God has been showing me how sinful my mind is... how judgmental and critical I am, how quick I am to get irritated and annoyed. Boy, its a blessing and a curse to ask God, "make me more like Jesus!"... because HE WILL! and it has so far involved humility in ways I've not experienced before, and a dramatic encounter with my sinful nature. God is at work in me, and its a great and awesome thing when the Holy Spirit brings about change... I'm nowhere near "changed" in this matter yet, but I've found myself frequently asking "What would Jesus do?" It helps me to focus on HIM rather than myself.

Whew!