Daily Delight
I grew up in the church. My childhood consisted of VeggieTales, memory verses, and church camp. I’m very grateful for my upbringing, though admittedly, as I grew older, there were several aspects of church culture that rubbed me the wrong way, such as the constant attempt to mainstream faith. The commercialism of Christianity made me uncomfortable. I still have a hard time being open minded about Christian labeled movies or music. However, I recently found an old bracelet I had kept in a box of sentimental knick knacks which made me pause over one of these Sunday School platitudes. I don’t remember who made it for me, but the shiny plastic beads were lovingly strung on elastic string, outlining the letters WWJD.
The rage of this particular slogan has long faded into an overused cliche, but the challenge behind it stuck with me these past couple of days. What WOULD Jesus do? Applying this question as a filter for my past week makes me cringe. What would Jesus do if he was scrolling through his Facebook feed and saw a political statement he didn’t agree with? What would Jesus do if a gross injustice was brought to his attention? What would he do if he was driving past a weary person at an intersection with a downcast expression and a sign asking for money? How would he respond if someone was asking for his time after a long day of work?
In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus gives the well-known instruction for us to live as a light in the world. This is a high calling because Jesus refers to Himself as The Light (John 12:36). In other words, He doesn’t just want us to be good, shiny role models, He tells us to be a beacon that reflects who He is by how we live. We’re supposed to be the safe refuge that heartsick travelers see from a long way off.
How might our world change if we actually lived this way? Instead of lashing out against the frustrations of the world, what if we shone through them? I hope and pray that someday this would be my first reaction. Let us all reflect the grace we’ve been given. Shine brightly!
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Photo: @nhinton4
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Amanda Hertzler
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Amanda lives in Wyomissing, PA with her husband and new beaglier puppy. When she is not working at her job in Human Resources, you could probably find her either hiding with a book and a large cup of tea, or dancing around her house singing whatever song happens to be in her head in that moment. She also enjoys running, baking, and hanging out with the crazy teens who actually trust her to be one of their youth group leaders.
Recently, Amanda has been learning more about what it means to pursue the true identity of who she is in Christ, rather than live under fear, inadequacy, or perfectionism. She's a bit of a slow learner, but thankfully there's lots of grace for that. She loves connecting with new people so please reach out with comments or questions.
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