I don’t know about you, but sometimes I read Bible stories and I’m swept back in time, able to imagine the scene, the characters, and appreciate the historical perspective that comes to mind. As many times as I’ve read the Luke 24 account of the two followers of Jesus, taking the seven-mile trek between Jerusalem and Emmaus, it never dawned on me that their story is my story too. They were simply walking along, sadly recounting the events of Good Friday and another traveler catches up to them. He asks what they are talking about, and they give the account of Jesus and all that happened, their hearts still breaking. When they finally reach Emmaus, they ask the traveler to join them for dinner and stay the night. As they begin to share the meal, the traveler prayerfully breaks bread and suddenly their eyes are opened. For the first time that day they realize they’ve been walking with Jesus. As soon as they recognize Him, Jesus disappears.
You can imagine how the conversation changed from there. They practically ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples what had happened. They were in awe that they had just spent time with the resurrected Jesus. It lit a fire in their souls.
The thing that strikes me here is that we too are walking along the road to Emmaus. Every day we walk the earth we have an opportunity to wake up and see that Jesus walks with us, that He is right beside us, and never leaves us. Jesus is a constant. The only variable is our willingness to see Him, our recognition of His very being. What will jolt us awake and open our eyes to His presence?
If Jesus has disappeared from your sight, or you have simply stopped looking for Him, then search your heart and your memories for a time when He was very real and very close to you. A tiny spark of recognition could start a fire in your soul that helps you see Him every place you go. He sees you. He loves you and He walks with you this very day. Welcome to Emmaus!