WWJD (what would Jesus do?) swept the nation a few years back.  We still see some bumper stickers and even a few bracelets and t-shirts.  It is a nice, simple reminder to have before us as we go through each day.  Every moment of every day we should be consciously aware of who we are and how we are acting, afterall we are Jesus' representatives to the world.  With that in mind, it is really imperative that we take into consideration whether or not we act and look like Him.
 

         The more I look at Jesus in the Word, the more I have begun asking myself the question WWJB (where would Jesus be?).  I have spent years trying to be a faithful and obedient follower of Jesus.  Over the years I have developed my own set of DOs and DON'Ts which, in my mind, keep me obedient.  But as I look at Jesus the Son of Man and He who was here on earth, I am seeing someone unlike me.  Rather than being on a journey of isolating Himself from the world, He would find himself in the middle of it.  Yet, He, fully man, lived without sin.

          Jesus says in Matthew 11:18-19, "For John (the Baptist) came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon'  The Son of Man (Jesus) came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and 'sinners'.  But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

           In Matthew 9:10-13, we read, "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and 'sinners' came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?'  On hearing this, Jesus said, 'It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  But go and learn what this means.  I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'  The Holy Bible, NIV

          WWJB – Where Would Jesus Be?  The more I look at myself, my life and the way I have tried to walk in obedience, I find much lacking in my resemblance of Jesus.  Isolating myself from those not yet followers of Jesus and their culture in an attempt to stay pure I find myself in judgment and still yet a man with sin.  My isolation doesn’t make me holy.  Jesus isolated himself only unto God and drew closer and closer to him.  His isolation was never from the "sick", tax collectors…those not yet followers of Him. 

             Proverbs tells us that bad company corrupts good character…so we naturally have migrated toward no ‘bad’ company.  Maybe it’s not who we hang with, but more importantly how much time we spend in company with God in relation to the time we spend in company with those not yet followers of Him.    

          I am challenged to ask myself what people would say of me.  In an attempt to live a proper life, and treat others as I would want to be treated, some may say, ‘He is a good man.’  Would anyone call me a friend of tax collectors?  A glutton or a drunkard?  Heaven forbid or I hope so?  My whole life has been about sacrifice…giving up things as obedience and faithfulness.   Jesus said, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  Looks like I have a lot to work on.

Chris