What If Jesus were to spend a day here?

I had a conversation with a girlfriend the other day and we were wondering what Jesus would look like if he were to walk the earth in our day here and now.
Joan Osbourne asked the question back in 1995; “What if God was one of us, just a slob like one of us just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home” she asks what his name would be and what would his face look like. I think this song caused a lot of people to start to ask the question, “who is he?”
Almost ten years later Todd Agnew released; “My Jesus” a song that asks the same questions Osbourne did but poses these questions to the Church. Both songs from vary different people asking the deep heart questions that are already on all of our minds.
So back to this conversation I had with my friend Dee. We were both going thru a rough time. Ya know when life just seams to jump out at ya and pulls your hair and drags you down a road you really didn’t want to walk down? Well that’s where we were. I was telling my friend about a “come to Jesus” talk I had with… Jesus. I was SO mad and had this crapy attitude and just couldn’t understand the “whys” of life, or where God was when I needed him. I yelled at the top of my lungs at God and said; “WHERE ARE YOU? I NEED YOU AND YOU’RE NOT HERE! SHOW UP, WOULD YA!” I took a deep breath and I got this vision in my head, but it ran deeper then just my minds eye, it was like I had been transported to another place in time. I was walking on a beach (I LOVE the beach) the crisp air from the ocean, I could smell it, it was so sweet and the cool breeze graced my face. As I was walking the shore line bare foot of cores, I heard my name, “Hey Ra, over here” (Rara is a family name, very special name to me) so I look up and I see these two beach chairs and there was a man sitting in one, holding a cold beer, wearing sunglasses and one of those cheesy beach hats guys ware, waving me over. I walked closer, I could smell his sweet cigar and this guy stood up, embraced me with the biggest hug EVER, and we sat there had a beer and watched the ocean wash back and forth on the sand for hours. It was the most peaceful my heart had been in a while. I look over at this man and he had the biggest grin on his face, no one said a word, words weren’t’ needed. The sun had set, and it was time to go. We got up, the man held me so tight and safe in his arms and he whispered in my ear so tenderly, “I’m always with you. Always.” Just as quick as I found myself on the beach, I was back in the deserts of Arizona, but now I had a peace that truly is beyond my understanding.
So my friend and I talked a little longer and imagined and pondered what Jesus would be like if he were to come “hang for a day” here on earth. Would he meet me for a drink after work? Would he squat down on Mill Ave and have a cigarette with the street kids? Would he meet you at Paradise Bakery for lunch or over at Starbucks for an Iced Mocha? Would he ride a Harley? Would he be down at the bar drinkin scotch, dirty with a cigar hangin with the boys? If Jesus were to come visit you for a day, what would that look like? Here’s another question for ya, how do you introduce Jesus to your friends? Is he a clean cut man who opens doors for you? Is he a little rough around the edges, but knows your heart deeply. Is he so Holy that you have to make an appointment and go visit him in his office, or does he meet you and the park and walk in the grass barefoot and no shirt?
I guess my point is this girlfriends, that vision of Jesus on the beach spoke to a need in my heart that only Jesus could speak to. I was talking with another friend the other night at the bar and the Jesus on the beach means nothing to her, she needed to know that Jesus would meet her at the bar and have a drink with her and touch her heart. There is something I have learned over the past two years about sharing and introducing Jesus to people who don’t KNOW Him. Ya gota find where Jesus can be good news to them. Listen to their brokenness, and allow Jesus to speak to their hurt. All we (believers and followers of Jesus) have to do is listen. God handles the rest.
Here are the lyrics to the two songs I mentioned.

Joan Osbourne; One of Us
If God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question
And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah
God is goodyeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
If God had a face what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like heaven and in jesus and the saints and all the prophets
And yeah yeah god is great
yeah yeah god is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of usJust a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
He's trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in rome
And yeah yeah God is great
yeah yeah God is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
What if god was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home
Just trying to make his way home
Like a holy rolling stoneBack up to heaven all alone
Just trying to make his way homeNobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in rome


Todd Agnew; My Jesus
Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand
Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?
Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side
or fall down and worship at His holy feet
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?
Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud
I want to be like my Jesus!I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!I want to be like my Jesus!
Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means
to be like You JesusCause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like you Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!