COFFEE WITH JESUS

(8-minute read)

Not nearly enough do we hear inspiring stories from believers who face severe health challenges while staying true to their faith and keeping their experiences authentic. They speak of their on-going battles with conditions like pleural effusion, prostatitis, gastrointestinal disorders, ulcerative colitis, or topical steroid withdrawal syndrome with as much ease as they talk about God’s goodness with evidence and conviction. Their stories are relatable because they make God so real without hiding the toll that these conditions take on their physical, emotional and mental well-being. As such, their stories strike a chord with anyone who wants to see God in real lives – and not in Christian caricatures.

Wherever Jesus went, He habitually interacted with people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs. If you receive an invitation to have coffee with Jesus today, how do you think it will go? While we can assume that Jesus must surely love a rich and full-bodied brew, we can also be certain that He is less interested in the cup’s content than He is in your life’s content. To share a cup of coffee with anyone is really an invitation to a private conversation. But what can the Lord possibly want to know about your life that He doesn’t already know? In all likelihood, He probably wants you to know Him a little more – more than what you have read or heard about Him, more than what you think about Him, and more than what you say about Him.

What if He asks you only two questions:

QUESTION 1: WHO AM I IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE?

As you pull up your chair to sit closer, would you regale the Lord with recent firsthand accounts of how God had showed up as a spark of ingenuity for a challenging project, or how thankful you are for a friendship, or how you weathered a difficult situation and experienced a breakthrough that you never expected? Do you share with Him how someone had escaped harm or danger, or experienced some favourable outcomes as an answer to your prayers, and how (letting a tear roll from the corner of your eye) you find yourself still waiting for your own breakthroughs?

Maybe you want to tell Him about a past event or a relationship that still haunts you but instead of speaking honestly about your hurt and disappointment, you (smiling, no less) launch a spiel about forgiving others to impress your coffee companion. However, the instant He looks right into your eyes, you know you have nowhere to hide the bruising of your heart.

Then, there is a pause and a silence, but it is not awkward because you have never felt more safe in the presence of the Lord. And, gently, the Lord prompts you with a few more questions.

Am I your Joy of Salvation?

The joy of the Lord is an inner condition resulting from an intimate relationship with God, the Father. It is not a display of extreme positivity focusing only on positive emotions and thinking. In fact, when King David was dealing with a spiritual crisis after sinning with Bathsheba, what he feared most was estrangement from God and losing the joy of the Lord. Hence, he prayed to God, ‘Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain.” (Psalm 51:11-12).

So, what kind of joy is this? David experienced this joy as a life-sustaining force – as it is for all believers. It is not the same as the pleasure we find in material comfort, personal achievements, work and ministry success, a satisfying marriage or relationship, or being in the company of people we enjoy. To be sure, the joy of the Lord enhances our appreciation of life, but it also ameliorates our suffering during hard times.

Jesus touched on the binary of a life without God, and a life that's nested in Him in John 10:10 (NLT), “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Look at the contrast between the two realities - with God and without Him. It is foolhardy to ignore the fact that anything and everything that is important to God will become a target for the enemy to bring discouragement, disappointment and disillusionment in our lives. On the other hand, we need to understand that the ‘rich and satisfying life’ that Jesus promised is not about living a pain-free life either. Rather, it is about the ability to have a deep and satisfying relationship with Him and with other people – no matter how much setbacks we have. It is a joy that emanates from Him alone – unspeakable, unexplainable but definitely attainable!

In fact, Jesus laboured this point, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that Yes, your joy will overflow! You will be filled with My joy.” (John 15:9-11, NLT).

Do I have this joy of salvation that propels me to invite people into my life and that makes Jesus an irrepressible force in my life?

Am I your Good Shepherd

How well do you discern God's voice when you navigate the uneven and uncertain paths in your life? Is your journey of pain an all emotional experience or do you also find the Good Shepherd sitting quietly with you in your private pain room?

Jesus has promised us, ‘I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep.’ (John 10:14-15).

It's no use knowing that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and yet continue living as though everything depends on us alone. In addressing human stubbornness, Jesus asked, "Why do you call Me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). In James 1:22-26, we are also taught, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says".

Sitting opposite The Good Shepherd, how do I start putting into action what He has been showing me about myself and make real changes in my life?

QUESTION 2: WHO ARE YOU IN YOUR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE?

To acknowledge that Jesus is the Joy of our Salvation, our Bread of Life and our Good Shepherd means nothing to anyone if people do not experience us as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In other words, we are not relatable!

Jesus gave all His followers the clear mandate to be as effective as salt and as light when He preached the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:13-16). There are so many useful qualities in salt and light but salt is effective only when it comes into contact with something and light is beneficial only when it is seen.

We can find several examples from the book of Acts where Jesus’ disciples left a lasting impact on the people they met with unscripted conversations that changed lives and communities. In one particular account, God opened Peter's mind to include non-Jews in his ministry and as a result of his obedience to God, Cornelius’ household was saved on his visit.

(The coffee is getting cold.) Is it time to stop containing my potential to be God’s salt and light? Have I been busy keeping the God-given goodness in my life in small pots because I feel embarrassed to let others see how they will grow as trees that thrive in the open?

ARE YOU ON A WORRY HUNT?