What if God Was One of Us?

I had this old song by Alanis Morissette stuck in my head the other day -

What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

If God had a face
What would it look like?

The Bible says that God did become one of us through His Son, Jesus.  In Jesus we see the fullness of God and His heart for us.

"We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created."

[Colossians 1:15 MSG]

But I often wonder, if Jesus was around today, what would He be like? 

I saw this picture today of a modern stained glass window which a teenager had designed to show Jesus in a 21st Century context.

If Jesus was around today, where would He be?  What would He be doing?  Who would He be with?

I don't think He'd be at church. 

Whilst He lived on earth, Jesus rarely hung around with 'religious' people.  He was usually found with those on the outskirts of society, with those who really needed Him and were aware of their need.  He befriended the lonely and despised (Zacchaeus); He healed the perpetually sick (the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years); He comforted the mourning (Mary and Martha); He fed the hungry (the feeding of the Five Thousand); He forgave the 'sinful' (the woman caught in adultery), and He affirmed the outcasts (the Samaritan woman).

What would this look like in our age and our culture?

Who are the lonely?  Who are the hungry?  Who are the sick?  Who is mourning?  Who needs to know comfort and forgiveness and affirmation?

The Bible says that we have Jesus' spirit living within us; we get to be Jesus to the world.  We get to share His love to those around us.  And when we do, it is as though we are doing it for Him.

        "I was hungry and you fed me,
        I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
        I was homeless and you gave me a room,
        I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
        I was sick and you stopped to visit,
        I was in prison and you came to me.

        ... Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that 

        was me—

        you did it to me."

        [Matthew 25:36, 40 MSG]

I know that most of the time I don't reflect Jesus or live out His love for other people.  But as I grow closer to Him, I hope that my life will look more like His.

God did come to earth and live as one of us.  And now He challenges us to live like Him.