What would Jesus do?
I had some students who came late to class last week without a good reason. I had already warned them that if they were late again they would be on detention with me at lunchtime. When I reminded them that was what would be happening one of them said, “But sir, what would Jesus do?” Usually, that is a good question to ask, especially in a Christian Living class. I think they thought that I would say that Jesus would be kind and loving and forgive them. (And as a result he wouldn’t give them a detention!) In fact, I said that I thought that Jesus would tell them to get their act together and turn up to class on time.
Sometimes, we can have a limited view of who Jesus is, and also of how he shows us God’s love. Jesus certainly is kind, merciful and forgiving. But he is also challenging, disturbing and confronting. Jesus meets us and accepts us for who we are, and where we are. As we saw last week, he describes himself as a doctor who comes to sick people. But good doctors don’t want us to stay sick. They do all that they can to help us get well again. Sometimes, this involves painful surgery. At other times it involves telling people that they need to change their diet or lifestyle.
Jesus treats us in the same way. Correction and discipline are reminders that God loves us. As it says in Hebrews,
“‘When the Lord punishes you, don’t make light of it, and when he corrects you, don’t be discouraged.
6 The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.’
7 Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don’t all parents correct their children? 8 God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him. 9 Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn’t it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
10 Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. 11 It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Whether it is a parent, a teacher or God who does it, being corrected is never fun and often hurts. But when we learn from the experience we will do right and live in peace. A football coach corrects us so that we can play a better game; a music teacher corrects us so that we play in tune so others may listen and enjoy our music. God corrects us so that we can reflect more of his character, and be like Jesus. A wise man once said, “Embrace your critics”. What he meant was, “love the people who show you where you need to change”. Sometimes, this is easier to do than others. Often, we want to react defensively, proving we are right or blaming someone else. But if we can get beyond this, and admit that there may be some truth in what the other person is saying we can grow.
When I was a child we had a poster on the wall at our place. It was of a rhinoceros with its head down about to charge. The caption on the photo said, “I may have my faults, but being wrong isn’t one of them”. It was a constant reminder to laugh and listen, instead of react when we were corrected about something.
How do you cope when you are corrected? What would Jesus do in your life at the moment?
Sometimes, we can have a limited view of who Jesus is, and also of how he shows us God’s love. Jesus certainly is kind, merciful and forgiving. But he is also challenging, disturbing and confronting. Jesus meets us and accepts us for who we are, and where we are. As we saw last week, he describes himself as a doctor who comes to sick people. But good doctors don’t want us to stay sick. They do all that they can to help us get well again. Sometimes, this involves painful surgery. At other times it involves telling people that they need to change their diet or lifestyle.
Jesus treats us in the same way. Correction and discipline are reminders that God loves us. As it says in Hebrews,
“‘When the Lord punishes you, don’t make light of it, and when he corrects you, don’t be discouraged.
6 The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.’
7 Be patient when you are being corrected! This is how God treats his children. Don’t all parents correct their children? 8 God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him. 9 Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn’t it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
10 Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. 11 It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Whether it is a parent, a teacher or God who does it, being corrected is never fun and often hurts. But when we learn from the experience we will do right and live in peace. A football coach corrects us so that we can play a better game; a music teacher corrects us so that we play in tune so others may listen and enjoy our music. God corrects us so that we can reflect more of his character, and be like Jesus. A wise man once said, “Embrace your critics”. What he meant was, “love the people who show you where you need to change”. Sometimes, this is easier to do than others. Often, we want to react defensively, proving we are right or blaming someone else. But if we can get beyond this, and admit that there may be some truth in what the other person is saying we can grow.
When I was a child we had a poster on the wall at our place. It was of a rhinoceros with its head down about to charge. The caption on the photo said, “I may have my faults, but being wrong isn’t one of them”. It was a constant reminder to laugh and listen, instead of react when we were corrected about something.
How do you cope when you are corrected? What would Jesus do in your life at the moment?
posted by Peter Wilson at 3:20 PM
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