or Seven Days to Christmas
Personally, I’m really glad
we have cars- or even bicycles for that matter; anything but walking. Although I do enjoy hiking in nature, walking
down the road does NOT appeal to me, especially as a method of
‘transportation’. So I am glad that I
was born the last half of the last century, not like the two who walked to
Emmaus.
Lk. 24:13 That very day two of them were going to a
village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, (14) and they were
talking with each other about all these things that had happened. (15) …Jesus
himself drew near and went with them. (16) But their eyes were kept from
recognizing him.
(17-20) Meanwhile,
Jesus asks about their sadness and what happened in Jerusalem. (21) …we had hoped that he was the one
to redeem Israel…
(22-25) …Some say he is alive, others do
not believe… And he said to them, "O
foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
(26) Was it not necessary that the Christ should
suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (27) And beginning
with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures
the things concerning himself. (29) In
Emmaus, the men didn’t want him to leave, …“Stay with us…”
Jesus meets
up with these downcast men and decides to walk seven miles with them in their
journey. During those seven miles, he
learns their perspectives of what happened in Jerusalem,
what they thought Jesus’ purpose was, and how they thought it was all a
waste. Jesus rebukes them for unbelief
and explains how what happened was needed.
Then He showed them Old Testament passages about Himself and what they
meant.
I can’t
imagine having face to face communication with the Lord for seven whole miles,
but I do know He wants to walk in our journey with us. We might not completely understand Him or
what is happening, but we can know He is with us through it all. 7 minutes, 7 miles, 7 years or 77 years: God
wants all the time we’ll give Him. He
wants to open our eyes so that we recognize Him, and He'll change us from within!
(31) And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.
And he vanished from their sight. (32) They said to each other, "Did not
our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to
us the Scriptures?