“...their eyes were opened, and they recognized him...” (Luke 24:31)

    Two friends — people who had known Jesus, who had walked with Him, talked with Him, and eaten meals with Him every day for three years — didn’t recognize Him even on a long walk down a dusty road. Have you ever wondered about that? I certainly have. How could that possibly be?

    Could it be that the disciples were looking at a man who happened to be traveling along the same road they were traveling. They did not see Jesus because they did not expect to see Jesus. They just saw another traveler.

    How many times on our walk through life do we not see Jesus in the face of another traveler?

    How many times do we talk with a co-worker, a parent, a child, a friend, or a stranger, but fail to recognize that this person holds a precious glimpse of our Lord and Savior within them?

    And because we don’t recognize Jesus in these people, we don’t treat them as we would treat Jesus. Instead, we treat them just as our friend, our co-worker, or our child.

...we still do not recognize Him in each other.

    It must make Jesus terribly sad that even with all our flowery words and pious presumptions, we still do not recognize Him in each other. We spend so much time questioning each other’s commitment to Jesus, and so much time fighting over man-made rules, that we often forget about those people who are lost and hurting all around us. We forget to do God’s real work; ministering to those who are hungry for His word and His truth to come into their lives.

    We have the choice to open our eyes and commit ourselves to do God’s work here on earth. Rather than judging, we can reach out to lost souls — not just by telling them about God’s love, but by showing them how great God’s love is. We can be living witnesses to Jesus by how we live and how we treat one another. Others can look to us and say, “I want to be like them. I want what they have.” Then God’s grace will touch their hearts and make them ask, “How do I get it? What do they have that I don’t?” Remember what Jesus prayed?

“My prayer is not for them [the apostles] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

    However, living this way hinges on whether or not we see Jesus in the people with whom we walk down life’s path. When we look at another person, do we see someone who is worthy of Christ’s message? Someone whom God loves beyond measure? Do we see Jesus Himself — forgotten, betrayed, hurting, and alone? Or do we see just another person on the path?

    Jesus said, “I tell you truly, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” (Matthew 25:45)

    Think about it a moment: shouldn’t our goal be to treat others as we would treat Jesus Himself? Isn’t this God’s real work in us? By opening our eyes to Jesus’ presence in the those around us, we will come to see His spirit transforming our own lives. We can say with the disciples of the Emmaus story, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road...” (Luke 24:32)

    Let’s open our eyes. This opportunity is with us right now. Let’s not waste this chance to get to know the Jesus who is among us at this very moment.

© 2001, Staci Stallings. Used by permission. Tired of trash entertainment? Staci Stallings is an inspirational romance author who writes “On Our Journey Home,” a free newsletter with stories of faith and encouragement. Come visit her website http://www.stacistallings.com.

Title: "Folks on the Road to Emmaus"
Author: Staci Stallings
Publication Date: August 22, 2001

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