If you read the gospels, it is easy to look at the acts of Jesus and simply say – “that’s how I should act”.  This is the foundation of the WWJD idea, of acting in such a way that in every circumstance of life you attempt to act as Jesus would.  In itself, that is a futile effort though, and will only lead you to frustration when you realize that you are not Jesus.

Living the life Jesus would have us live entails more than just a series of decisions.  If you look at the life of Jesus in scripture, you will see that surrounding all of the great actions of Jesus, there was time of prayer, communion with God the Father, fasting, and even celebrations.  In the same way that it would be foolish to look at a star baseball player, and then turn to a child and say “now hit that major league fastball just like the star baseball player did”, it is foolish to say to one another just “act like Jesus did”.  It took effort and training in order for the baseball player to be able to hit a major league fastball, and it takes effort and discipline for us to move forward day by day to be conformed into the image of God.  Jesus did not live certain acts in isolation, but those actions of his life were the overflow of his private discipline of communion with God.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize?  So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” 

My exhortation today is one of peace.  You do not have to wake up tomorrow and live exactly like Jesus would.  You simply have to pursue Christ seeking to grow into him more than yesterday.  You can rest your heart in the gospel, the finished work of Jesus on the cross for your sin, and resolve simply to do the work of disciplining your life to follow after him.  Day by day, we are to come before God to be renewed, refreshed, and grow more into His likeness.  Our actions will be the overflow of our heart, and our heart will be transformed not as much from individual decisions of what to do or what not to do, but in times no one ever sees; in times in reading scripture, in prayer throughout the day, in periods of fasting, in times in nature alone with God, and in various other ways we will grow our hearts in Truth towards God.

Be encouraged, that even if you are reading this, God has a purpose for you today.  Our race is not a sprint, but a marathon of daily disciplines, one day at a time, step-by-step, and God is with you every step of the way.