On Why I Forget Jesus isn't Keith Urban

Confession: I have a major jones for Keith Urban. I think he's smolderingly gorgeous, extrordinarily talented and he's from Australia - the trifecta of attraction, really. At his Escape Together concert the other night, I was entranced. As his high-power guitar riffs wailed through the Tacoma Dome, I was so completely overwhelmed and caught up with the music that I didn't even know what I felt. At one point during the concert, he even came within about 10 rows of us. Momentarily, I weighed the option of tearing down those steps like a pre-teen at a Hannah Montana show or just enjoying the ride like a normal, sane 24-year-old. Lucky for all of us, option 2 won.

There are significant moments when I think Jesus is like Keith Urban.

Is it the hair? Maybe....




But really, I think it's mostly that I treat Jesus like some eternal, cosmic celebrity.

As much as I like and respect Keith Urban and would love to be his friend, I'm not. We don't have a relationship, he doesn't know me. I don't know who he is or what he's about. I know the music he has written or played and I know who he's married to, but really that's where it ends. There is nothing substantial drawing us together.

I often think of Jesus the same way. I like and respect him; I would love to be His friend; I know about who He is, and really, sometimes that's where it ends.

Except that it's completely not true - we are intricately and substantially draw together. Jesus knows me - intimately! We are friends (even when I forget); I know what He's about because He's told me and left a love letter unpacking the details. I even know who His bride is - it's me! Whenever I hear His love song, I get overwhelmed and in awe of the power of His music. He'll even come within a few rows of me, but because I don't want to look insane, I choose not to run and embrace Him.

Keith Urban will never stop his concert, step up to the mic and say in his sexy, Aussie drawl, "Sarah Nicole Lewis, I love you. Escape together with me."

But Jesus would. And Jesus did. He didn't stop a concert - He stopped the power of sin and death and said "Sarah Nicole Lewis, I love you. I love you when you forget that I'm intimately involved in the details of your life. I love you even when you don't want me to be involved. I love you when you compare me to a country music star and forget that we're friends. I love you because of your loud laugh and your expressive nature and your big hair. I love you so much that I died and came back to life so we could be eternally and completely drawn together."

Keith Urban may be super talented and Nicole Kidman may be a lucky, lucky woman, but at the end of the day, Jesus knows me.

And I'm good with that.