Where would Jesus be?

A few years ago it used to be fashionable to wear those ‘What would Jesus do?’ bracelets. But maybe the question we need to ask ourselves more these days is not what He would do, but where He would be doing it.

Because as Christians we have a tendency to form our little ‘holy-huddles’, seeking to avoid contact with all that is ‘unholy’. But as you read through the gospels Jesus seems to do the exact opposite. He went to parties. He hung out with the despised tax collectors. He talked with women in public (customs of the time frowned upon that). He touched the untouchable lepers. He ate with prostitutes.
So if he was here on earth today where would Jesus be?

Out on the street corners offering hope to the beggars and shoppers rather than ‘turn or burn’ condemnation?

In pubs showing love to the drunks, helping them get home safely, caring for them in their need?

Bringing healing to the sick and restoration to the broken. Offering hope to the lost and weary. Feeding the hungry (physically and spiritually). Caring for the outcasts of society.

So if we can hazard a good guess at where Jesus would be, I guess the question is, if we call ourselves His followers, why isn’t the church following His lead and going there?

Why do we wait for the lost to come to us? The apostles didn’t stay in the upper Room after receiving the Holy Spirit. They got out onto the streets of Jerusalem and beyond, living it out.

We have the key to freedom. Freedom from poverty, freedom from HIV, freedom from drugs, freedom from depression, freedom from human trafficking, freedom from conforming to society, freedom from celebrity obsession. We have the key to freedom, Jesus, and a world in chains, waiting for us to share the key with them. Where would Jesus be? Probably not in the mega church singing the latest hit worship song but in the streets living it out, being a ‘living sacrifice’ (re Romans 12:1), showing religion that is ‘pure and blameless’ (re James 1:27) to the world. Is that where we are?