The following was published by The Gisborne Herald on Saturday 10 May 2008:

It’s a question often asked. It’s a slogan. It’s a cliché. But it is something worth considering:

What would Jesus do?

The answer, if you’re looking, is to be found in what Jesus did. Healed? Yes, Jesus did that. Forgave? Yes, Jesus did that too. Saved? Yes, Jesus saved people. He saved them from themselves.

The way we choose to remember Jesus tells us something more of what he was like. “Messiah”, we call him, “Saviour of the World.” We remember Jesus as the one who preached the Kingdom of God:Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit.

But that’s not all that Jesus did.

Corrupt Public Servants? Jesus met with them. Prostitutes? Jesus ate with them. Thieves? Jesus madethem his disciples. We might call them the rot and the rust of life. But Jesus saw that they could beredeemed, and his unconditional love saved them.

Jesus wasn’t afraid to mix it up a little either. He was often found in the Temple in Jerusalem, which wasthe religious, political, and economic centre of his people. The High Priest, the Scribes, the Pharisees,and all the leaders of his people were there. He talked to them straight.

“Brood of Vipers”, he called them, “Wicked and perverse generation.” They deserved it. They abusedtheir power and position. They hurt their people.

Jesus knew that loving the unloved would make him hated. He knew that challenging rulers andexposing their lies would get him killed.
But he did it anyway.

If you want to know “What would Jesus do?”, the answer is simple. Jesus did what was right, always.

“But what is right?” you ask. Look again at the story of Jesus. He challenged what needed to bechallenged. He dismissed what needed to be dismissed. He saved what needed to be saved.

The real question is: What are you going to do?