Where Is Jesus Residing in Your Life?
“Where are you staying?”
It’s a simple question, almost polite. In John 1:38, two curious disciples ask it of Jesus. They aren’t asking for an address; they are asking for access. Where do you reside? Where does your life take place? Where can we find you?
Jesus’ answer is just as simple and far more demanding:
“Come and see.”
In John 1:29–42, we watch faith unfold not through a sermon or a miracle, but through proximity. John the Baptist points and says, “Here is the Lamb of God.” Two disciples follow. Jesus notices and invites them to stay. They spend the day with him and nothing is ever the same. One of them, Andrew, immediately goes to find his brother Simon and says, “We have found the Messiah.”
Notice the movement:
Pointing → Following → Staying → Telling.
Faith begins not with certainty, but with curiosity. It deepens not with information, but with relationship.
Who We Host Changes How We Live
During the holidays, many of us are keenly aware of how differently we live when someone is staying in our home. We clean rooms that usually get ignored. We plan meals instead of grabbing whatever is easiest. We are more attentive to our words, our schedules, even our attitudes. Hosting changes us.
If a respected guest is staying with us, we act differently.
If a beloved family member is visiting, we make room.
If someone we admire is at our table, we listen more carefully.
So here is the gentle but challenging question of this passage:
If Jesus were truly residing in our lives—not visiting, but staying—what would look different?
Would our habits change?
Would our speech soften?
Would our priorities shift?
Would there be less room for bitterness, more room for grace?
The disciples didn’t just believe about Jesus; they stayed with him. And that staying transformed them into witnesses.
“Come and See” Is Still the Invitation
Jesus does not pressure the disciples. He doesn’t demand a confession of faith on the spot. He simply says, “Come and see.” It is an invitation into shared life.
That same invitation stands for us.
Advent and Christmas remind us that God does not remain distant. God takes up residence. “The Word became flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14). The question is not whether Jesus is willing to dwell with us, but whether we are willing to make space.
From Guests to Hosts
Andrew, after staying with Jesus, immediately becomes a host himself, bringing Simon to meet the one who changed him. That is often how faith grows: one invitation at a time, one relationship at a time.
When Jesus resides in us, we don’t just rearrange our lives; we open them. We become people who point and say, “Come and see.”
A Closing Reflection
As the decorations come down and the routines return, this question lingers beyond the holidays:
Where is Jesus residing in your life?
Is he a seasonal guest?
A Sunday visitor?
Or a daily presence who shapes how you love, speak, and live?
May we be people who not only ask where Jesus is staying, but who allow him to stay with us. And in doing so, may our lives quietly testify, like Andrew’s did, “We have found the Messiah.”
In God’s grip,
Pastor Chuck Church
