WWJD

Have you seen those bracelets with WWJD on them? Because sometimes it's hard to know just what to do, the bracelets are supposed to remind kids to stop and think, "What would Jesus do?"

If you don't know about Jesus, I can tell you he spent his life teaching other people about God. He knew God was his Father. And he told people that God was their Father, too. The Bible tells about his life.

Jesus sometimes told stories called parables, with lessons about how to live right. Maybe you have heard the story about the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37). It shows how to care for someone else who needs our help. Helping people is being a good neighbor.

Jesus also preached the Sermon on the Mount (see Matt., Chaps. 5-7). It's filled with ideas about how to find good. One thing he taught was to "love your enemies." He said it wasn't enough just to love your friends. Why? Because God loves all of us, and so we need to love everyone.

Jesus healed people, too. His healings show that God loves us all so much. Jesus wasn't afraid. When a man came to him for help because his little girl was dying, Jesus knew God would heal the girl. He showed how not to be afraid. He showed that we can trust God to heal us always (see Luke 8:41, 42, 49-56).

Jesus really summed up all of his teachings this way: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and most important commandment. The second ... is like this one. And it is, 'Love others as much as you love yourself' " (Matt. 22:37-39, Contemporary English Version). He showed his friends how to love and follow these commandments. We're his friends, too, if we follow them.

Let's try out WWJD and see how it might help us. A friend of mine was out riding his bike when he fell and hurt himself. What would Jesus do? What do you think? We don't know exactly; but he might think about that first commandment. We can, too. To love God "with all your heart" is to trust God's love for you. God wouldn't ever stop loving and caring for us. So we could never be separated from Him. Nothing could ever hurt us. Sometimes it might look that way, but God wouldn't let anything bad happen to us. He's protecting us all the time. That's a good way to face an accident like that.

Or, suppose you did something wrong and then found out that your friend got blamed for it. What would Jesus do? What do you think? Again, we don't know for sure, but he might think about that second commandment - to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving and respecting yourself means really wanting to do what's right. God will show you how to correct a mistake you've made and give you the courage to do it. And your friend would be helped because you put things right. You sure would want to be treated that way, wouldn't you?

When you don't know just what to do, it's great to have a bracelet to remind you. But you don't really need one. You can always stop and listen to God, who is always with us. He will show you what to do. Thinking about Jesus' teachings is a help, because God sent him to show the way. Jesus said he was "the way." He didn't mean that he was a path or road, but that he was showing us how to think and live each day.

Here's something written by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science: "Jesus mapped out the path for others" ("Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Pg. 38). Following Jesus' teachings is like walking in his path and being one of his students. It will always help and heal us, and our family and friends, too.

You might have fun making a list of situations in your home or school where you or your friends aren't sure what to do. Then try to find out hints from Jesus' teachings or parables or healings on what he might do. On what he would want us to do as his disciples in 1998. Why don't you try it? Let us know what you discover.

(jshwrite@csps.com; The Christian Science Publishing Society, Mailstop C-42, One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115-3122)