There are so many uniqueness Christian faith has in contracts to other faiths. One of them is the desire of God to be recognized, understood, and loved by people. In other faith it is human who takes initiative to know God and therefore often they have to go to some particular place, learn particular language, dress in the particular way, change particular name so somehow these things will help them to know god and meet god. Often people who experience god are placed at very high level of spirituality because very few can know god and therefore those who know god are given unique names and titles.

Christianity is very different from that, in the Bible it is God who takes initiative to reveal Himself to humans. In the Garden of Eden it was God who came every evening to meet with Adam, it was God who came to talk with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the prophets. It was God who took initiative to become human in the Jesus Christ and lived like others and limited himself at the level of dying on the cross for our sins.

So if you are having doubts of the work of God in your life and His presence let me assure you that God is very much willing to go to extra mile so that you would know God, recognize Him, understand Him, love Him, and worship Him. However often we have experienced distance from God, have felt that God has left us and not knowing the plans of God. In this particular narrative we are going to notice few hindrances for these two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus to recognize Jesus.

1. There were blinded by the circumstances: This is the narrative of two disciples who were not part of close 12 disciples but most likely part of little wider circle. The Bible tells us that as they were making their way toward Emmaus Jesus started to walk with them but they could not recognize Him, and when Jesus asked them they tell their sad story about what happed to Jesus and how they were taken over by the grief of his humiliating and painful death on the cross. They could not think anything else at this time then the death of Jesus and issues surrounded to it.

I am sure we all have passed through the times when we wish world would end, we would stop existing because of the pain of lost love, death of a loved one, information of something terrible, sickness, lose of job is so overwhelming that we would not see any hope at all. And we start singing: Why does the sun go one shining, why does the sea rush to shore, don’t they know, it’s end of the world, it ended when you said goodbye.”

 One of the good things these two disciple had even in the most discouraging times was they had each other to share this pain. They both were the disciples of Jesus and therefore knew how the other was feeling. I pray that God will give someone like this in your walk. Be open and willing to share your lives with someone like minded. It would have been miserable to endure this pain all by oneself. If these two disciples would not be willing to share their lives with others they both would be grieving all by themselves and it would have more painful than being with others to share our sorrows.

2. They were blinded by their bias: They had many preconceived views about what was the role of Jesus, how should have he died, what happens after death and so forth.
3. They thought that since Jesus often claimed to me Messiah, which mean deliver, Jesus is going to deliver Jews from Roman rule. But now we know that Jesus’ “Kingdome was not of this world”. He did not have any political desire for himself. Otherwise he had many opportunities when he would have expressed his agenda.
4. They also thought like most Jews would that Messiah would never die the death of a criminal, and that is the reason why in later of this narrative Jesus quotes from the Old Testament and proves how Messiah would have to suffer and die the death of the criminal.
5. They were not ready to believe in the fact that anyone could come back to life after death. They thought the death is the final destination of everyone including Jesus. Even though there were few of the disciples saw Jesus after resurrection but most of them did not believe initially about the resurrection of Jesus. How often we are faced with much bias about the Bible, God, Church, people, community and therefore it becomes hindrance for us to know God.

3. They were blinded without personal experiences: Both of the disciples heard the testimony of the women who witness the angles testifying the resurrection of Jesus. I don’t think they doubted the women who witness these great miracles. These two disciples also heard the explanation of the scripture about Jesus’ death and resurrection, but since they have not experienced in their own life they would not recognize, understand the risen Christ.

I am sure we all have heard so many extra ordinary testimonies and story, how God can perform great miracles in the lives of people. We have read the stories of families and individual how God restored them from a miserable conditions. The Bible is full of those stories and miracles but since we have not experienced in our lives, it just remains stories for us. I pray that God will work in each one of your lives that we will experience that wonderful of presence and peace which many experienced in their lives.

4. Their eyes were open in simple act of sharing meal: Now remember this was not an extraordinary religious ceremony, this was also not the “Lord’s supper” Jesus asked his disciples to celebrate in His remembrance. This was just an evening meal, as they were tired to walking long distance it was very natural for them to eat evening meal. As ordinary as any other meal you and I would take. However as Jesus broke the bred their eyes were open. In other words Jesus was recognized by them in very simple act of sharing meal. Remember what they said to their friends when they went back to Jerusalem, that they recognized Jesus in breaking of bread. God often comes to us in very smile act of living our lives as ordinary people with extra ordinary act of sharing. One of the things we will notice throughout the Bible is that how God comes to people when they are busy living their lives. Often my mother tells me how she spent her day doing house work and other things but constantly being mindful of God’s presence around her. She told me how God brought peace to her about me while I failed 5^th time same class and while she was cleaning the house and praying God gave her peace which never left her. I want to encourage us all, let us be mindful of God’s work in simple events but still profound because of the presence of God.