What would you discuss over dinner with Jesus?

I just finished reading "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger" by David Gregory. It is the April selection for the book club I'm in. To be honest, I wasn't all that eager to read it...I knew what it was about, but it just didn't intrigue me. (I don't know about you, but it's always the book I wasn't looking forward to reading that turns out to be the most enjoyable.)

Here's the forward:

You are Invited to a Dinner with Jesus of Nazareth

The mysterious envelope arrives on Nick Cominsky’s desk amid a stack of credit card applications and business-related junk mail. Although his seventy-hour workweek has already eaten into his limited family time, Nick can’t pass up the opportunity to see what kind of plot his colleagues have hatched.

The normally confident, cynical Nick soon finds himself thrown off-balance, drawn into an intriguing conversation with a baffling man who comfortably discusses everything from world religions to the existence of heaven and hell. And this man who calls himself Jesus also seems to know a disturbing amount about Nick’s personal life.

As the evening progresses, their conversation touches on life, God, meaning, pain, faith, and doubt—and it seems that having Dinner with a Perfect Stranger may change Nick’s life forever.

A provocative novella set almost entirely in a modern-day Italian restaurant, Dinner with a Perfect Stranger presents the opportunity to listen in as a skeptical young professional confronts Jesus with challenging questions about the claims of Christianity.

This book really touched me...quite unexpectedly...to the point of tears. I've believed in Jesus all my life. I think when we are blessed with something early on in life, we have a tendency to take it for granted. I have a tendency to take for granted the gift of Christ the same way the spoiled rich kid takes for granted his family's fortune. My family never had a lot of money...and growing up in a place like Naples, Florida where financial status is everything...let's just say I was constantly aware of how much money my parents didn't have. What I wasn't inherently aware of, was how fortunate I was to have a Mom and Grandmother who took me to church, who through the toughest times in life, never waivered on their faith in God. Looking back, I can see how truly "rich" we were. You don't realize what truly matters, until later on in life...I suppose.

All that said, the God I know now is different than that God I knew as a child. He is a gentler God, a great listener and a faithful friend. He is extremely creative and has a great sense of humor. He's patient and kind and He loves me in a way that I will never be able to truly understand...not in my earthly life, that is.

David Gregory did a really good job portraying this Jesus...the Jesus I have come to know and love. I found myself wanting so much to be at that table with Him, to look into His eyes, to run my fingers along the scars on his wrists. I have so many questions for Him. I want so much to see the world through His eyes.

I think I'm looking forward to this Easter more than any other...I'm overwhelmed with sadness and joy. I've decided to set aside our school books for the rest of the week and spend the time reading everything we can about the Easter story. I think I will even read them "Dinner with a Perfect Stranger". I think they're ready...