ever. They must have been absolutely
amazed. But here’s the main thing:
bread represents the goodness of the
Lord’s love. They recognized Him
in the goodness of His love! Not
only in the teaching; not only in the
explanations of the Scripture; not only
in the reasoning with which they had
begun the day, but in the humble,
quiet sharing of the bread of life, the
goodness of love that can unite all
people with the Lord and with one
another.
Truth
and
reasoning
and
understanding are all means to an end.
They are important. They are necessary.
They are part of the process we must go
through to build the foundation in our
minds for the house of our faith. But faith is not just understanding, it is the
acknowledgment of truth from affection because it is true; and we see that it is
true when we see the goodness within it, which also happens when we apply
that truth to our lives, acting on it with sincere commitment. Then when we
reflect we see that everything in our experience confirms it, even the most
challenging events of our lives.
But why did the Lord then “vanish from their sight”? You know, when
you labor for a long time to get some concept and you finally get it you have
achieved your goal, you no longer need to look back, to second-guess yourself,
to live in the understanding. Now you are free. You can live with confidence
from the heart. It’s not that you forget everything you have learned but in this
case it was no longer necessary for the disciples to see the Lord in a natural
body because they could see Him everywhere. They saw Him especially in
the Scriptures in the whole history of Israel, and in their own lives as they
experienced His love and wisdom daily for three years.
And so it is for us. When with understanding we see the goodness in the
truth of the Word we see the Lord and feel His presence everywhere. He is then
truly glorified, not only in Himself but in our own hearts and minds, and in
our lives.
Then, looking back, the disciples “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 for us?’ And they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem,
and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,” and
When with
understanding we see
the goodness in the
truth of the Word we see
the Lord and feel His
presence everywhere. He
is then truly glorified,
not only in Himself but
in our own hearts and
minds, and in our lives.
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