Company on the road...
| "As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" "What things?" he asked. (Luke24:15-19) |
They are struggling – they are processing – they're working through what has happened. The Emmaus road is a hard and sad one for them...
But we need to compliment them: they are communicating, sharing and journeying together. Traumatic events, especially grief, can easily alienate couples because people grieve and process heartache differently. This couple have it right: they are so engrossed in conversation that they don't particularly notice Jesus walking with them until He interrupts them with a question.
But as Jesus joins them on the road, He gives them a very beautiful gift: He asks them vitally important questions. "What are you talking about?" A little later He will ask another question "What things (have taken place)?"
Part of journeying in faith is to be brave enough to face these kind of penetrating questions:
- If you are in a relationship or marriage, are you communicating and sharing like these two did?
- What are you talking about and thinking about?
- What faith-impacting successes/failures/opportunities/disappointments have taken place in your life recently and what has the impact has this had?
Take some time to think through these questions – especially the last one...
Imagine having a God who walks with us when we have these tough questions. The Good News is that we don't have to imagine it, we can know it is true.
