There we were, hemmed in the corner of a music joint downtown, which at capacity probably holds 75 people. Appropriately called The Basement, it was darkly lit and homey, a small stage front and center. Posters of shows gone by stapled to the ceiling amidst the ducts and piping. An eclectic mix of Nashville natives hungry perched and waiting for original tunes.

I was there to see an old friend perform, and I dragged a couple of guys with me, promising them the band was “folksy” and sounded “a lot like Johnny Cash.” Somewhere along the way, my friend had taken a left turn musically and gone hard rock on me. Needless to say, he and the band did NOT sound like Johnny Cash. Apologies again to my friends for false advertising. But that’s not the reason for the post.

 

Before the second coming of Johnny Cash took the stage, we had the pleasure of hearing a trio of brazen youngsters who were playing their very first set ever. They cranked up their introductory song, which posed the question, “Is my Jesus gonna come back?”

I laughed inside. Surprised to hear from God in a place like that. Late on a Saturday night, jamming to local talent in a basement. And there He was. As the band played, reciting the question time and again, it got me thinking. There is so much focus on the second coming, the return of Christ. Experts try to predict it. We debate whether signs of the end times are upon us. We talk about it in church.

It makes it easy to forget that the Jesus we worship isn’t just up and out there somewhere. He’s right here with us. For me, I too frequently scan the skies for a glimpse of Him, pray upward to Heaven like it will take the world’s tallest elevator to deliver the message. I create the fallacy in my mind that this is only a long-distance relationship.

We serve a living God. And yes, there will be a second coming.

In the meantime, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that just because He is coming back doesn’t mean He ever left.

It’s a paradox that gets misconstrued far too often.

We can look fondly to a day when we are reunited with our savior. But we shouldn’t overlook the fact that He is walking beside us in the meantime and that we don’t have to wait for “the return” to have “the relationship.” We serve a living God. We serve a relevant God. We serve a present God. And evidently, we serve a God who will even hang with us on a Saturday night to catch some live rock music.

Right here. Right now. Ironically Jesus Jones sings that song. It’s true of that other Jesus as well. He’s right here. Right now.