05
What Would Jon Do?
Jon BurgessSo we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
2 Corinthians 5:9
What's my purpose? The answer to that question is the answer to this next question. What pleases God? What pleases God defines my God-given purpose. It's not a mystery. His Word gives us clear direction on what pleases God and what displeases Him. So, why do we spend our lives wondering what our purpose is? Could it be because we don't like the answer? My purpose is to please God, but... I'd kind of like to do something for myself. In fact the world around just increases the confusion because they act like we are out of our minds if we are living to serve God and others rather then serving ourselves. Paul knows this and addresses it head on as he continues in chapter 5:13If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. There it is bold black and white! How do we please God? We stop living for ourselves and we start living for others. Easier said then done. Especially if we have been used to doing the opposite for most of our lives.
I remember reading the book "In His Steps" by Charles M Sheldon as a teenager and being challenged to the core of my Christian faith. It's the story of one church's pledge to ask "What would Jesus do" before making any decision small or large. The "WWJD" movement of the early 90's was born out of this challenge. That one question gets at the heart of what Paul is saying in 2 Corinthians 5. I ask my self that question all the time. The problem is that too often the "J" in "WWJD" is substituting "Jon" for Jesus. "What Would Jon Do" is easy to answer because I just follow my feelings or cravings in any given moment. What Would Jesus Do requires slowing down recounting His Word and asking an even deeper questions: "What Is Jesus Doing". Now that's the question that please God in any given moment. It steers me away from a legalistic stance and into an intimate relationship with Jesus where, "raised with Christ", I'm now walking through each and every situation with Him. By asking "What Is Jesus Doing" instead of "What Would Jon Do" I'm learning to hear His voice over my own and over the noise of the self-feeding culture around me. Every room I walk in to Jesus is already up to something good it's just that I'm often too self-consumed to notice what it is. If I make it my goal to please Him every day of my life then there's not a day that goes by where I'm not happily leaning in to say, "Jesus what are you up to today?" When I'm asking questions like that I am living out my God-given purpose!
You are changing what "Jon would do" as I learn to see what You are doing. In each of these challenging situations I find myself I'm learning to react out of reconciliation rather then retaliation. You could have crushed me in my sin but instead You called me in. Ever day is a brand new adventure in learning to hear Your voice above the noise.
