Coffee with Jesus, by David Wilkie

David Wilkie's Coffee with Jesus is hilarious, thought-provoking, and sometimes convicting, all at the same time.  Wilkie started Coffee with Jesus a few years ago as an online comic strip, which he has collected in this volume.  If you're looking for great comic art, well, you'll have to keep looking.  His characters are simply throwback clip art figures.  But man does the dialogue pack a punch!

In each strip, one or two of Wilkie's cast of characters has a short interaction with Jesus, as if they are having coffee together.  Wilkie has grouped the strips thematically, sort of, and some themes pop up throughout.  Wilkie's Jesus is very mellow, approachable, sometimes a little sarcastic, and always pushing his interlocutors to think a bit more deeply about their faith and actions.

The obvious theme of the book is that Jesus wants us to talk with him.  I think it's OK to think of prayer as sitting across the table from Jesus, having a cup of coffee; he desires intimacy and vulnerability from us.  My favorite strips have Jesus reminding us that "Sometimes it's good to not talk."

Sometimes we just need to be still and quiet in his presence. . . .

Jesus will sometimes remind us that we don't really need to hear from him, because we already know what he's going to say.  On the topic of marriage, we know the answers already . . . .

He especially likes "watching it sink in" when we realize the answers. . . .And he gently reminds us that sometimes when we think we know all the answers, we really don't.

Many of the strips poke fun at the foibles of the modern American church.  For instance, after Carl tells Jesus about the youth group mission trip that will include assisting a church in Florida, followed by a trip to Disneyworld, Jesus points out, "Amazing how many churches in tourist destinations need help, isn't it?"

One topic that I often need to hear from Jesus on is the nature of vocation.  Jesus points out to Carl that "some people will walk through life quietly, with dignity, doing my will without being noticed at all."  Carl, who has a landscape company, questions whether his call is "just" mowing lawns.  Jesus answers, "That's what you get to do."  What a great reminder to serve Jesus in everything, whatever vocation we are in.

There are so many great strips in Coffee with Jesus, and so many challenges and chuckles.  If you are a Christian who doesn't mind a bit of good-natured ribbing at Christian culture, and who enjoys a fresh approach to questions about the Christian life, I dare you to spend a few minutes having coffee with Jesus.  It just might change your life.