Along the Road

I have struggled most of the week with the subject I am inspired to write about.  I felt the Spirit nudge me to discuss two key milestones we encounter on our Christian walk, benchmark occurrences we all have in common, though the timing and the circumstances are as varied and unique as we are.  As I wrestled with the structure and title for this piece, a song came to mind that actually expressed the spirit of what I set out to explore.

“Joy at the start, fear in the journey, joy in the coming home.  Part of the heart gets lost in the learning somewhere along the road.”

Dan Fogelberg

So what exactly is this road?  When speaking of our experience as believers, we often refer to our Christian walk, or as I prefer to express it, our journey.  The believer’s life is truly a process, with seasons of growth followed by seasons of rest and renewal.  We are challenged and tempted, we fall down and we get back up, but the larger framework of this process is defined by two pivotal events that define the journey and reveal to us our God given purpose.

With that in mind, it is no surprise that these two pivotal events are described in scripture, they both occurred along the road, and both are intimate interactions with the risen Lord.  If we can identify and contemplate the moments in our own walk when these events have occurred, we will surely gain a deeper understanding of who God made us to be, and what He has chosen us to do.

The Road to Damascus

Acts 9:1-5 (NKJV)
¹ Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ² and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³ As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. ⁴ Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” ⁵ And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

It may not be quite as dramatic for us as it was for Paul, but before we became believers, we were all non believers.  Some event, or series of events, in some way brought us to our knees and made us aware that Jesus wanted our attention.  It caused us to examine what we had been doing, and how we had been living, and make the changes that would allow Jesus to influence our future actions and deeds.  And so our Christian journey begins.

As new Christians we are hungry for the word, and tireless to serve.  For a season we learn and we grow and we give as much as we can, but in time the excitement of our new found faith may become as routine and dreary as the old life we left behind.  We may talk the talk, and go through the motions of giving, but the passion that consumed us after that first mountaintop experience fades until we find ourselves on…

The Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-17 (NKJV)
¹³ Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And they talked together of all these things which had happened. ¹⁵ So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  ¹⁶ But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. ¹⁷ And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

The two of them are stunned that the stranger does not know of the events leading up to the crucifixion, and after, the mysterious disappearance of the body of Jesus.

Luke 24:25-27 (NKJV)
²⁵ Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

So Jesus explains to them all of the prophecy that has been fulfilled.

Luke 24:28-31 (NKJV)
²⁸ Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. ²⁹ But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them. ³⁰ Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.”

In the breaking of the bread, He defines the purpose for Holy Communion by revealing Himself to His hosts.

Luke 24:32 (NKJV)
³² And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

This is the AHA! moment, they have recognized Him.  And that is the second benchmark event on our journey.  It is the moment when a deeper relationship begins.  It is when the Jesus you knew about becomes the Jesus you know, personal and intimate, one on one.

From that point forward, we will still have our ups and downs, but we weather the storms in a much different way.  Fear is replaced by confidence, timidity is replaced by boldness, and even though we may journey without a human companion, we are certain that we do not walk alone. We receive His peace that passes all understanding and begin to experience the thrill of the great adventure before us!

“Along the road your path may wander, a pilgrims faith may fail.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder, darkness obscures the trail.

Cursing the quest, courting disaster, measureless nights forebode.  Moments of rest and glimpses of laughter are treasured along the road.

Along the road your steps may stumble, your thoughts may start to stray.  Through it all a heart held humble measures and lights your way.

Joy at the start, fear in the journey, joy in the coming home.  Part of the heart gets lost in the learning somewhere along the road.”

Dan Fogelberg

As we contemplate the circumstances in our lives when we reached these pivotal moments, and remember the pieces of our heart that were sacrificed to bring us to these benchmarks, we can not help but define who we have become, who God has molded us into along the road of our personal journey.  From this perspective we can and will find our God given purpose.

Blessings & Adventure,

Lynn “lynnibug” Rios

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