What did Jesus do?

A while ago it was topical to ask the question 'What would Jesus do?'. I've just been challenged by Steve Addison (author of 'Movements that Change the World' - brilliant book check out his blog www.movements.net) to ask a different question: 'what did Jesus do?'.

The danger of asking 'what would Jesus do?' is that we create the Jesus we want to believe in (Frost & Hirsch unpack this brilliantly in ReJesus) instead of engaging with Jesus in a way that transforms us. This almost inevitably leads to a comfortable version of Jesus who confirms rather than confronts our prejudices.

When we ask 'what did Jesus do?', we open ourselves to a much greater potential for transformation. On the one hand, Jesus loves us and affirms us. On the other hand, Jesus has a far bigger picture of our potential than we do. He loves us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us there! All of us have an imperfect (and culturally conditioned) understanding of Jesus. Consistent examination of the life and example of Jesus will enlarge our vision of who he is.

It is in studying 'what Jesus did?' that Jesus is able to transform us. Usually that transformation is disturbing and scary - generally the people who are used most by Jesus are the ones who are most broken early in the process. To experience this, we need to find seasons when we are set free from 'doing' to come close to Jesus and receive from him. A prolonged study of the gospels with plenty of opportunity to listen to Jesus (combined with prayer and fasting) puts us in the place where we can become more like Jesus. Many of us would rather be busy doing things for God than taking time to listen to him, but it's worth the effort. We're between Easter and Pentecost at the moment - a period when the first disciples were told by Jesus to wait in the city until they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Luke doesn't tell us how hard the disciples found this period of praying and waiting, but the fruit on the day of Pentecost made it all worthwhile.

I feel really challenged at the moment to 'wait for the Holy Spirit' - not in a passive sense, but actively looking and longing for more of Jesus. Watch this space and I'll tell you what happens nexr.