Who Do You Say I AM? A Journey With Jesus.نموونە

My REASSURANCE, The One Who Walks Beside Me

We all know what it feels like catching up with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while. Now think of the relief, the excitement, and likely a lot of confusion when you realize a friend you thought was gone, returns for supper.

Jesus had only been gone a few days, but many of His friends thought they had lost Him forever. In today’s reading from Luke, we see initial sadness turned to joy when these two friends realize that Jesus is back, and as He had promised, He remains the friend that walks beside us.

Luke was a doctor and a Gentile. He was not initially part of God’s people, but through the grace of Christ, he could join the Jesus movement with the first-century church. As such, his account of Jesus’ story is taken from many eyewitnesses and a lot of in-depth research. Luke also writes to people like himself – Gentile people who would not have known the one true God, had He not become flesh Himself.

Throughout his account of the Gospel of Christ, Luke has made it clear that Jesus was completely human. In fact, when reading today’s chapter, we find Jesus just walking with people, taking His time with them, despite already being resurrected and able to come and go between the earthly and heavenly realms. We see Jesus with a very human sense of humor, ‘acting’ as if He were walking further on His own and pretending not to know what happened in Jerusalem over Passover, despite being the actual center of all the events.

Jesus, being our Redeemer, our Lord and Master, already resurrected and reigning over all of Heaven, is still so humble that He is willing to be our friend here on earth. Not only did He prepare the way to the Father for us, not only does He cover and guide us from above, but He also walks beside us. Jesus is our friend, He is our light, and He is our guide. We don’t face darkness, struggles, or uncertainties alone, because He is with us. We won’t always have all the answers, but we can always get clarity from Him who knows both us and our circumstances best.

Now here’s the curveball for today. If you declare Jesus to be your Friend when you’re lonely and your Guide when you feel lost, should you not also be a friend to the lonely and a guide to the lost? How can we as His followers experience such love and acceptance, and not share it with the rest of the world? The two friends He found on that road, lost and confused, immediately left their meals, after dark, and ran back to Jerusalem to tell the others of Jesus’ return from the grave. They were not confused and afraid anymore, and neither would their friends be.

They reconnected with Christ in fellowship, wanted to share that love, and did something reassuring for the others.

Reflect and pray about what you might do for someone today to show the love of Christ, the One who walks beside us…

• Read Luke 24:13-32