If I could have a beer with Jesus

Country songs are not generally known as theological treatises. I may have found one that is though. In a recent country song, singer Thomas Rhett ponders what it would be like to have a beer with Jesus. It's a really awesome thing to think about. Although it's a simple, sentimental song I think that it hits the nail on the head in terms of what it means to be a disciple and actually wades into some serious theological questions.      Here is the song:

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It's funny that Rhett would put Jesus' drinks on his tab. Christians believe that, in His crucifixion, Jesus put all of humanity's sins on His tab so that we wouldn't have to pay for them. It's like we drank all night, racked up a huge bill and then our credit card was denied but Jesus stepped in and covered us. Since we don't have this debt, we are free to live in eternal blessedness. A few beers in exchange for living eternally in blessedness is hardly a fair trade but I suppose it's the least a guy like Thomas Rhett can do for Jesus.

Rhett also says he would "put his whole paycheck in the jukebox." This is perfect because God loves music. Psalm 150 tells us to "Praise God with trumpet sound; praise God with lute and harp! Praise God with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!" If you're fresh out of lutes, that's fine. God likes drums, guitars, keytars, and ukuleles too. No kazoos though, as they are of the devil.

The song gets theological too, asking whether Jesus has "been there from the start." This seems like a weird thing to ask but if you are a Jesus nerd like me it makes sense. In the old days (like year 296 old) there was a huge controversy among Christian theologians as to whether the Son (Jesus) is co-eternal with God the Father. In other words, was the part of God who came to earth as a baby on Christmas around in the beginning when the part of God that made the universe was doing it up? This guy Arius (heretic!) famously said no, the Son hasn't been around forever, which means that Jesus isn't really God. I guess Thomas Rhett just wants to set the record straight by talking it out over a few beers.

This song is great and it got me thinking: if I could have a beer with Jesus, what would I do? 

I could ask Him the answer to really hard theological questions. "Um, how the heck does the Trinity work?"

I could ask Him about his activism. "Hey Jesus, how did you start the most important and wide-spread social movement in human history? Any tips?"
I could ask him how the pet silk worms from my 2nd grade class are doing (pour one out for those guys).

I could ask Him which political party He really supports.

I could ask Him for answers to hotly debated ethical questions. "You know Jesus, you never mentioned it last time you were in town, but can we talk about homosexuality for a bit?"

I could ask him a lot of things but I think the best possible option, as the song suggests, would be to "let Him do the talking." Jesus would have better things to say than I would, that's for sure.

 I'm not getting lazy, it's just that this week's drink is exactly what the doctor ordered.

A Beer

Ingredients: a beer

Make sure that the beer is cold, unless it is a stout in which case it can be room temperature. Open the beer and pour it into a glass. Ideally it should have foam the thickness of two fingers at the top of the glass. Pouring it down the side of the glass produces very little foam while pouring it right into the glass produces more foam. Regulate accordingly to achieve the proper amount.

If Jesus actually starts drinking with you it's probably time to cut yourself off because you have died.

Me having a beer with Jesus