The Road to Emmaus

As a parent, money and patience always seem to be in short supply. I sometimes look at other parents and wonder how they can be so patient as their son tears the curtains from the wall. I once heard a man say, "What we think of as patience may actually be perspective."

The ability to see things as they really are gives us the courage to wait upon the Lord even when life takes unexpected turns. The story of the road to Emmaus illustrates this principle beautifully.

Three days after the Savior´s death, two of His disciples walked the dusty road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. As they spoke, they were joined by a traveler who asked about their conversation. The disciples replied, "Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem...they have crucified [Jesus]. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel."

Then the stranger said, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?" He then opened the scriptures to them, showing how all of the prophets had testified that Christ would be crucified and rise on the third day. As night fell the disciples asked the traveler to join them for a meal. Sitting together the stranger, "...took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew...[it was Jesus]." - Luke 24:17-32

We are often like the disciples. We let the worries of the day keep us from recognizing that the Savior is walking alongside us. We are quick to treat our trials as curses, instead of trusting that with God´s perspective our "curses" may actually be blessings. May we be more willing to wait upon the Lord, and may we see things as they really are as we walk our own roads to Emmaus.

THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
by Steevun Lemon

The Lord was gone, His body lay
Inside the captive tomb.
And those who followed Him in life
Now felt the awful gloom.

Yet, two would walk the dusty road to
Emmaus on that day.
These were His friends, those whom He loved
Who talked along the way.

"He was the Son of God," one said
"How could He now be gone?"
"It seems our sorrow is too great
To hope to see the dawn."

And as they walked a stranger came
He listened as they spoke.
He saw their tears and heard their cries
And then His silence broke.

"But wasn´t this the plan," he asked,
"That Jesus come and die?
His sacrifice will save us all,
The prophets testify."

And so they walked into the night
And listened to Him speak
Of promised resurrection and
Of heaven for the meek.

And as night fell, they stopped to eat
This tiny little band.
And when He broke the bread they saw
The nail marks in His hands.

Too often we are like those two
Who walked along the road.
We think that we are all alone
With none to share the load.

We do not see our loving friend
Beside us on our way.
Carrying us through life´s dark nights
Into a brighter day.

So as we walk our own roads to
Emmaus may we see.
That we will never be alone
Unless we choose to be.

The Power of Art

 

My mother is an artist. Some of my earliest memories are coming home from school and sitting on the floor next to her easel and talking to her while she painted. I suppose that is why I feel so strongly about the power that art has in shapping our realities. Not sold yet? Let's try an example. If I asked you what Jesus looks like you might describe a man with long hair and a beard. If I asked you to concentrate on the picture in your mind you might soon realize that the image you hold in your mind is actually a depiction of the Savior painted by an artist.

This reality-shaping power found in art is especially useful to us as parents trying to communicate to our children intangible ideas like love, work, and faith to children. We need tangible tools to help us convey these values and pictures are one of the most powerful ways to do this. Walt Disney once said, "Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language."

For this reason I am going to begin to introduce different pictures on this blog and how my wife and I have used these images to communicate our values to our children. This has not been a road without bumps and bruises. Often what I want them to see is not what comes across, but the victories have made the ride worth it. Stay tuned...