When Charles Sheldon’s novel In His Steps was published in 1896, he couldn’t have imagined that one short phrase would be lifted from its pages and one hundred years later show up again on the wrists and windshields of countless American churchgoers.
The phrase, which is a question really, is: What would Jesus do? Or, because we like brevity: WWJD?
Sheldon’s point was this: When believers are considering a course of action or trying to determine what is the right thing to do in a given set of circumstances, the first question they ought to ask and answer is, “What would Jesus do?”
It’s a good question, and one we need to keep handy. It’s the downstream thinking of a child of God who seeks first His kingdom—the mindset of those who are convinced that God’s directives come with unimaginable power and promise.
Seeking first the kingdom of God is not about weighing our options, but about ordering our loves (to borrow a phrase from C. S. Lewis). It is about acknowledging that what God says to do, where He says to go, who He says to be with is always right and best. Always..”
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or
‘What shall we drink?’ or
‘What shall we wear?’
For the Gentiles seek after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.”
(Matthew 6:31–33 ESV)