WWJD, you see those letters everywhere, especially on
peoples wrist. I’ll admit that I haven’t
put much thought into it. I’d like to say
that I have, but I probably haven’t.
Recently I’ve become aware of some adult parent child
relationships that aren’t what their families would like them to be. When we’re children, the parent child
relationship is pretty simple to understand.
As adults we find the parent child relationship fairly simple to
understand, too. We know our roles and responsibilities. Most families function (or dysfunction) in the
same way. They raise their kids … the
kids grow up and move on … they leave their parents … the parents grow old
together (or not together).What does that have to do with WWJD? Remember when Jesus turned water into wine? Jesus was an adult at the time when Mary, his mother, asked him to do it. Jesus wasn’t ready to do it and really didn’t want to. He probably didn’t appreciate his mother putting him on the spot like that! Do you think he ever expected that his first miracle would be turning water into wine at party?!
So why did Jesus do it? I believe he did it out of love,
respect, and obedience for his mother Mary, his father God in heaven, as well
as for his earthly father Joseph, too. I believe Jesus was obeying the Fifth
Commandment of the Ten Commandments.
After all, if anyone knew the reason and intent of them it would have
been Jesus. Even though Jesus did not
agree with Mary at the time, he honored her.
Does honoring your parents as an adult mean that you always have
to obey their wishes? Do we have to turn
water into wine?! I don’t think it does. I don’t think it even means that we have to
agree with them all of the time. Jesus
would not have killed someone, or sinned, if Mary had asked him to. He wouldn’t break one commandment to keep
another. He did what she asked, even though he didn’t
like it, because it did no harm.
Respecting the position of parents does not mean you have to
agree with them. No group of adults ever
completely agrees on everything, much less fathers and sons, or mothers and
daughters … brothers and sisters weren’t even listed in the commandments! Adults can and will disagree, that’s okay. Christians will disagree, they always have. That’s okay too. Adult families will disagree from time to time. That’s okay as well, so long as it does no harm to the loving relationship of the family. There is strength in unity and love conquers all.
As adults I think we’re asked to give each other grace, love, and forgiveness. That’s What Jesus Would Do. Jesus offers us his grace, love and forgiveness … daily, hourly, minute by minute, and second by second. Parents should remember this (and so should kids).
There you have it. Pass it along
if you like or let me know if I don’t have a clue.
Eddie 