Looking like Jesus
Beth Jackson is the Chair of the Baptist Mission Australia Board and the Lead Pastor at St Ives Baptist Church in NSW . Here , she explores how we can all see the world more like Jesus
I was a teenager during the glorious height of the WWJD wristband craze . My friends and I had every colour of the wristband - purple , green , patterned , tie-dyed- often wearing more than one at once with the more unique colours being a hot trading commodity . Fashion trends notwithstanding , the purpose of donning the bracelet was to remind ourselves throughout our day that we should ask ourselves , ‘ what would Jesus do ?’
It wasn ’ t long before the wristbands were no longer an acceptable fashion choice and the acronym became cliché and parodied .
In fact , it became so trite that in the years since I have worked hard to find different language to convey the same message . And , yet , so often isn ’ t the most appropriate question for disciples of Jesus is just that , ‘ what WOULD Jesus do ’?
The Gospels paint us so rich a picture of the heart of Jesus in His everyday encounters with unnamed and otherwise unremarkable people .
We see Jesus ‘ moved with compassion ’ as he heals a man from leprosy , we see Him marvel at the faith of a Roman centurion , and we see Him grant forgiveness and healing to a man who was brought to Him on a mat because he could not walk .
We are privileged to witness the moving encounters with the haemorrhaging woman , the widow at Nain , and the Samaritan woman at the well .
When I read these Gospel narratives , I often imagine what it would have been like to have experienced the gaze of Jesus in those moments .
To be Jairus ’ daughter and to wake up to eyes of Jesus looking at you with compassion and warmth . To be the haemorrhaging woman who had been invisible for 12 years and to whom Jesus ‘ turned and saw ’ ( Matthew 9:22 ). They saw Jesus ’ heart .
In Matthew 6 , Jesus says , ‘ the eye is the lamp of the body . If your eyes are healthy , your whole body will be full of light .” Some biblical scholars suggest that , in the ancient world , the eyes were seen as the channel from which the thoughts and attitudes of the heart flowed . It was in the eyes that the character of the person was best reflected . The eyes demonstrated generosity , sincerity , and goodness ( or lack thereof !).
If we are seeking to model the heart of Jesus , it begins with how we see the world . Looking with grace and kindness to those that surround us each dayour friends , family , colleagues and neighbours . Looking with forgiveness to those who have wronged and hurt us .
Looking with ‘ eyes that see ’ towards those who have long been invisible . Looking with compassion and generosity on a community that is suffering .
Maybe one day a new trend of ‘ HWJL ’ wristbands might just catch on .
How would Jesus LOOK ?
RESONATE ISSUE 39 | PAGE 13