Spending Time with Jesus... and Country Radio

As a country music fan, I am rarely taken by surprise while listening to country radio. I've pretty much heard it all (for twenty years. yep. raised on the oldies and everything.) A lot of it is pretty good, some kind of pointless, some sad. Every once in a while a song will have exceptionally great lyrics or bring me to tears. On occasion a song will be actually so horrible that I train myself to know the first two notes, in order to change the station as quickly as possible. (coughcough Luke Bryan, I can tell you where to find me. :P)

But the other day I actually ran across a song that shocked me. This might be mostly due to the fact that I thought I was listening to a Christian Contemporary station, and only after the first few minutes of the song, did it strike me as an odd addition to their collection. 

Before I go into depth, here is a link to the song, and I will post the full lyrics to the end of the blog, for your convenience:

Yes, this song played for a good few minutes before it struck me as odd for its station. When I realized it was in fact on a country station, I found it sad that some people would probably have a conniption if they heard this on Way FM or Klove. The song is so real, so heart felt, and so true. But let's get down to the essentials, and see if we can avoid more sensitive issues. (ha! probably not gonna happen. You know me :P)

Granted, if I were to have a beer with Jesus, I would probably order something else, but he could of course order whatever he wants. Beer is just not to my taste, but I wouldn't say no to a taste of any of his favorite choices. Perhaps a nice bottle of wine, circa 25 AD ish. Maybe we would just order water and see what he whipped up. (John 2:1-11) Why, yes, I do think I'm clever. Ok, back to the song.  

As I said, this song took me by surprise. When I heard it, I was riding home from Birmingham, on my to church with my husband, and I was preparing to give a short ministry presentation during Sunday school. But once I herd this song, I spent the rest of the ride thinking about it and discussing it at length with my husband. I finally came to see it as a new take on a "bait and switch." You know the type: trick you into thinking it is just another cool, then  sneak in some ambiguous could be Jesus/ could be a girl relationship-sounding stuff. But this was different.

If someone had told me the title of this song, or if I had just heard a line or two, I might have expected it to be a funny joke. But instead, I was greatly convicted. Here is a song that brings all the principles of a true relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ and plops them right down into real, gritty life. 

Some would say you can't have worship and beer in the same song, let alone on the same music station. We won't get into a discussion on legalism today. I'm up for it, if you like, but this post is already getting longer than I intended. I would most likely point those people to the christian station on which I heard a commercial for a divorce lawyer, give them something real to talk about, and tell them to get back to me on that. 

But Thomas Rhett gets real about a relationship. He sees Jesus as a man to be respected and time with him to be cherished, but also as a person, a friend. We learn in sunday school and in the Bible to spend daily time with God in prayer and study, but do we really crave this time like the singer of the song seems to? Do we have our quiet time with the Lord in a place "somewhere we couldn’t see a clock"? Do we "pick a place that ain’t too crowded" with the other components of our life? Are we "sure to let him do the talkin’"? 

What about the way we react to God's direction in our life? Do we "gladly go wherever he wants to go"? The line, "I’d put my whole paycheck in that jukebox / Fill it up with nothing but the good stuff," convicts me of the way I use my time and the things with which I fill my day. Yeah, we believe Christ is with us wherever we go, but do we act like it? Do we wish sometimes that he would look or walk away for a minute? Or do we "hope and pray he’s stayin'"? 

And finally, what are the things that really mean enough to us to ask? Do we ask about the lottery? That boy or girl we can't stop thinking about? Or do we really value that time enough to focus on important things?

"Ask him how’d you turn the other cheek
To save a sorry soul like me
What’s on the other side?
Is mom and daddy alright?
And if it ain’t no trouble tell them I said hi
I’d tell everyone but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus
I’d tell everyone but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus."

If we were having drinks with Jesus, who would we focus on? Would we worry about our convenience? Would we pencil him in somewhere? Or we be focused on him, our Lord and Savior?

Who are you thinking about when you're praying or studying the Word of God? Is it about you? Or is it about the one who gave you his all, when you were the last person who deserved it?

LYRICS

Thomas Rhett Akins - If I Could Have A Beer With Jesus Lyrics

If I could have a beer with Jesus
Heaven knows I’d sip it nice and slow
I’d try to pick a place that ain’t too crowded
Or gladly go wherever he wants to go

You can bet I’d order up a couple tall ones
Tell the waitress put ‘em on my tab
I’d be sure to let him do the talkin’
Careful when I got the chance to ask

How’d you turn the other cheek
To save a sorry soul like me
Do you hear the prayers I send
What happens when life ends
And when you think you’re comin’ back again
I’d tell everyone, but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus

If I could have a beer with Jesus
I’d put my whole paycheck in that jukebox
Fill it up with nothing but the good stuff
Sit somewhere we couldn’t see a clock

Ask him how’d you turn the other cheek
To save a sorry soul like me
Have you been there from the start
How’d you change a sinner’s heart
And is heaven really just beyond the stars
I’d tell everyone, but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus

He can probably only stay, for just a couple rounds
But I hope and pray he’s stayin’ till we shut the whole place down

Ask him how’d you turn the other cheek
To save a sorry soul like me
What’s on the other side?
Is mom and daddy alright?
And if it ain’t no trouble tell them I said hi
I’d tell everyone but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus
I’d tell everyone but no one would believe it
If I could have a beer with Jesus