The last time I couldn’t recognize a familiar face was because that person was out of context!
I was at a ball game and there came a man who was searching for his seat about three rows ahead of me. When the man saw me, he immediately flashed a smile, waved at me, and said, “Hey, Donovan.”
Well, he obviously knew who I was, but who was he? I didn’t recognize him. He looked familiar. He wasn’t in my church. Maybe he was a member of the Rotary Club. Who was he? It was driving me crazy.
Later in the game I had an opportunity to catch up to him, and I said, “I apologize, I know you. I know I know you, but I don’t know you. Who are you?” He said, “Donovan, I’m Dr. First, your dentist.”
Of course! If he had come to the game wearing some scrubs and a mask with goggles, and if I had a numb lip, maybe I would have recognized him.
Is that the trouble Cleopas and his friend were having on the road to Emmaus? They remembered a crucified Jesus. They remembered a dead Jesus. He was dead. Period.
A risen Jesus is out of context. Is that why those two did not recognize him? It sounds good, but I don’t know.
What I do know is that I want Jesus to let these two in on his identity. “Come on Jesus, tell them who you are!”
Thanks to Donovan Drake for telling his story and to Ahmed Syed for the photo.
Is the Jesus in YOUR life the Jesus YOU have found in the Gospels? Or is the Jesus in YOUR life the RISEN Jesus who walks with YOU and talks with YOU every day?
THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD WILL FIND NEW STRENGTH!!
