Challenge on a Beaded Chain

Over Labor Day weekend in 2000, I attended a Christian youth rally called "Summit" in downtown Columbus. While there, I purchased a dog tag with the slogan "WWJD?" (What Would Jesus Do?) painted on one side and the following verse painted on the other:

"I can do anything through [Christ] who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

I started out wearing the dog tag for a while, hoping it would serve me as a reminder that I would be able to resist sin, behave better, and fulfill a lot of other idealistic notions I had in my head at the time. I was only 21 then, and still quite idealistic. The slogan "WWJD?" was still somewhat new to me, but at the time I bought the souvenir, I thought I knew its implications. I stopped wearing the dog tag after a few months.

Before I finished packing for my first trip to Louisiana, I saw that dog tag sitting on my dresser drawer, gathering dust. I hadn't worn or carried it for almost five years. I brushed it off and looked at the verse on the back. The very thought of being able to do "anything" made me stop and think. I thought "I will need Jesus' strength to get through next week," and so I decided to take the dog tag along. I wore it under my shirt on the bus ride down to Louisiana and decided to keep it on during the work days as well.

During even the hottest days in Louisiana, I could still occasionally feel the coolness of the flat metal tag against my chest. I could feel that beaded chain tickle the back of my neck. At those times, I always remembered what I had around my neck. In the morning, the first thing I would do when I got up was put on that dog tag. Maybe it was a bit superstitious. I even told a few people about that dog tag. I said: "This is how I get started each day, by remembering this verse." I thought I understood the verse.

Then came my second trip to Louisiana. I think somewhere on the trip down, I pulled the dog tag out from under my shirt and held it in my hand. I re-read the verse, recalling the peace of mind and the willpower that the verse had given me on my first trip to Louisiana. Maybe the dog tag spun around on its beaded chain, or maybe I turned it over one or two times. My brain made a connection that sent chills through me.

I understood it then. The front of the dog tag asks me "What Would Jesus Do?" The back of the dog tag has a Bible verse on it. Remember, that verse comes from a book where we learn about the attitude of Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8).

The challenge hits home--if the front is a question: "What Would Jesus Do?" then the back is one answer to that question: "Since you have his strength, you can do anything that Jesus would do."

Anything. The question and the answer make me think a lot more about what the inverted life is, and how I measure up. I have a challenge on a beaded chain, hanging around my neck. I am thankful for the challenge and the reminder that the dog tag gives me. These days, the only time when I am not wearing it is when I am in the shower.