On the wall of a building in Scotland is inscribed this searching question: "What would Jesus do?”
Christ Himself has given us the answer to that soul-searching question— an answer that is a perfect directive for every true-hearted child of God, an object in life worthy of Him who is that Object. He has said in John 8:2929And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:29), "The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.”
It is said that Sextus, one of the fathers in the early church, would ask his heart every night before going to sleep: "What evil hast thou amended this day? What vice hast thou shunned? What good hast thou done? In what part art thou bettered?”
In 1 Cor. 11:2828But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. (1 Corinthians 11:28), Christians at the Lord's Table are told: "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." Examination, or judging one's heart in the presence of the Lord, leads to self-condemnation and thus to true humility. Then the question becomes, for the lowly heart, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?”
The true guide for one who would find the answer to that question is not in the dictates of his own heart, for the wise man says, "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Martin Luther once said: "I am more afraid of my own heart than of the Pope and all his cardinals. When I look within, I see Pope Self whose guidance is the road to hell.”
Nor is the answer to be found in any man-made canon, creed, or catechism. A motto often seen in Christian homes reads:
Only one life, 'twill soon be past;
Only what's done for Christ will last.”
This is only partially true. It should read: "Only what's done for Christ, according to God's Word, will last." There, in the Holy Scriptures, and only there, do we find a lamp for the feet and a light for the pathway of the child of God. The Apostle Paul instructed Timothy as he would you and me: "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim. 2:1515Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15).
Jesus said:
"I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance.”