So middle school Emily wore a WWJD bracelet. You know the ones. Simple, yet powerful reminders that you are following Jesus, imitating your life after His, and that your life should reflect your level of service.

Recently, I found another one of those bracelets in a store. It was .99, so I decided that I should get it and start reminding myself every day. Plus, those things are pretty recognizable. You see one on somebody and you know they are a believer. Maybe it will come in handy!

As I was staring at it the other day, I started asking myself what it really meant to me. Technically, the bracelets were intended to mean What Would Jesus Do? As you go about your life, you have a reminder that you serve the Master, and you don’t do certain things you may be tempted to do, or you do things you might otherwise not do. Helpful, right?

But as I was looking down at the bright red bracelet, I realized it meant more to me than that. Yes, it is a needed reminder of what would Jesus do. It keeps me thinking of imitating my Savior, and there can never be enough reminders for that. It also helps me think of other things, thought; things equally if not more important: it makes me think of WHY I live my life the way I do, and why I am able to be called a daughter of God.

The bracelet reminds me of love. I’m thankful I chose the red color because it helps me even further to remember love at the core of everything. Yes, the letters WWJD stand out, but when I think of love, I think of more than what those letters originally meant.

When I think of WWJD, I think of….

Why Would Jesus Die? This is a question that I ask myself every Lord’s day. As I think about the cruel death He suffered at the hands of people His Father had saved time and time again, I think of love. It was love that drove Jesus to the cross. He pleaded with His Father if there were any other way, and because there wasn’t, His love made Him endure the humiliation and agony of Golgotha. And if He loved me that much, why would I entangle myself with my own desires or give in to the world that rejected Him?

Why We’re Jesus’ Disciples. The answer again is love. Because I love my Savior, I will do whatever it takes to please Him. If it means not doing something I might want to do, I don’t do it, because I love my Savior more. If it means doing something that makes me uncomfortable or puts me out in the slightest, I do it, because I love my Savior more than my own comfort levels. I need this bracelet daily because oftentimes sin tries to sneak into my heart. The fiery darts of Satan penetrate and I need the reminder constantly before me, reminding my of my first love and the One I am trying to please above ALL: above myself, above the world, above my husband. I am Jesus’ disciple because I love Him, and ultimately, because He loved me.

When Worldliness Just Disappoints. The world is a dark place. It is filled with sin, with regrets, with heartache and despair. The world is filled with greed and deception and people who use other people for their own pleasure or gain. When I am hurting because of sin’s lasting effects on this fallen world, I think of the love that is manifested through the Lord’s church. There, I find solace from my heartaches, friends who won’t abuse me, and family to lean on in my darkest and most triumphant moments. I have those things because of love. Because God loved us, He instituted this beautiful church. He loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die and establish a kingdom; a kingdom here on earth that we can be apart of and flourish in and feel safe in.

I am thankful that I found this bracelet again. It is a helpful reminder to me of the love I need to make manifest in my every day life. A love that is made possible because of the love Christ had and has toward me. A love I can know because my Father IS love, and He manifested that love through His Son, through His creation, and through His church.