Recognizing Jesus
"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” (Luke 24:30-32 NIV)
Even though Jesus had promised to rise again from the dead, His disciples still had trouble believing it. They were still overcome with grief and sadness, and were afraid they would never see their friend again. They were also afraid that Jesus' enemies would come after them, since they had seemingly gotten rid of Jesus. In fact, their fear and sadness was probably keeping them from remembering that Jesus had promised to rise from the dead, and that He was going to keep His promise, just like He had kept all His other promises.
But in order to show He was keeping His promise, Jesus appeared to His disciples multiple times after rising from the dead. He even walked, talked, and ate with two particular disciples, who themselves had been so overcome with grief, sadness, and fear that they had forgotten Jesus' promise, and could not even recognize Him when He was with them. And yet, Jesus still reveals Himself - as He explains how the Bible had foretold His death, and then He shows Himself by feeding His disciples.
Since Jesus is still alive, He is still active. He is still with us - but often times, we do not recognize how He is still with us. What is keeping us from recognizing Him? Perhaps, like the disciples, we are afraid and anxious, especially about the ongoing pandemic and is effects. We are sad because of a loss. We are afraid because of any other reason. All these things cause us to see only what is in front of us, what we are experiencing. We feel that only what we are feeling right at that moment is the only reality, and everything else is hopeless. There can be no hope when there is only sadness and fear.
And yet, Jesus still comes through. Just as He came through and dispelled the sadness and fears of His disciples, He still comes through and dispels all our fears, anxieties, and sadness. He reveals Himself by showing His love and care for us in so many ways. But, the question is, do we recognize Him? Do we still recognize that He is still with us, and is active with us, or do we allow our hopelessness to overtake and control us? Since Jesus is always with us, we can ask for His help, to remove everything that keeps us from seeing Him. We can ask for His help to overcome everything which keeps us from seeing things for how they really are - that He is always with us, loves us, and is in control. There is always hope, because Jesus is always with us. He can remove everything which keeps us from believing in that hope.
Dear Jesus, help me to recognize you in my life, and remove everything that keeps me from seeing you. In your Name, Amen.
"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” (Luke 24:30-32 NIV)
Even though Jesus had promised to rise again from the dead, His disciples still had trouble believing it. They were still overcome with grief and sadness, and were afraid they would never see their friend again. They were also afraid that Jesus' enemies would come after them, since they had seemingly gotten rid of Jesus. In fact, their fear and sadness was probably keeping them from remembering that Jesus had promised to rise from the dead, and that He was going to keep His promise, just like He had kept all His other promises.
But in order to show He was keeping His promise, Jesus appeared to His disciples multiple times after rising from the dead. He even walked, talked, and ate with two particular disciples, who themselves had been so overcome with grief, sadness, and fear that they had forgotten Jesus' promise, and could not even recognize Him when He was with them. And yet, Jesus still reveals Himself - as He explains how the Bible had foretold His death, and then He shows Himself by feeding His disciples.
Since Jesus is still alive, He is still active. He is still with us - but often times, we do not recognize how He is still with us. What is keeping us from recognizing Him? Perhaps, like the disciples, we are afraid and anxious, especially about the ongoing pandemic and is effects. We are sad because of a loss. We are afraid because of any other reason. All these things cause us to see only what is in front of us, what we are experiencing. We feel that only what we are feeling right at that moment is the only reality, and everything else is hopeless. There can be no hope when there is only sadness and fear.
And yet, Jesus still comes through. Just as He came through and dispelled the sadness and fears of His disciples, He still comes through and dispels all our fears, anxieties, and sadness. He reveals Himself by showing His love and care for us in so many ways. But, the question is, do we recognize Him? Do we still recognize that He is still with us, and is active with us, or do we allow our hopelessness to overtake and control us? Since Jesus is always with us, we can ask for His help, to remove everything that keeps us from seeing Him. We can ask for His help to overcome everything which keeps us from seeing things for how they really are - that He is always with us, loves us, and is in control. There is always hope, because Jesus is always with us. He can remove everything which keeps us from believing in that hope.
Dear Jesus, help me to recognize you in my life, and remove everything that keeps me from seeing you. In your Name, Amen.
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