You are trudging on the long weary road with a heavy heart, the dust rises and chokes you as the cars pass,
the clothes you are wearing are gritty and grimy,
and the sun seems to have picked you out for particular attention and torment.
The cold wet streams, you can hear splashing, are out of reach, undrinkable because of pollution
You are about to give up and collapse
all around you there is a deafening stillness,
the stillness that screams,
“You took the wrong turn, you are lost, you will never make it now.”
When you find yourself in a situation like this, just remember that there was another dusty road once
and two down-hearted men were walking in the hot Judean sun
Just to get away, to get away from the madness that they had witnessed in Jerusalem.
They had seen a man who had never hurt anyone, who had helped and healed many
being brutally beaten, and driven through the streets and in the end nailed to a wooden beam and hung above the heads of a bloodthirsty crowd who spat on Him and reviled Him.
Those two men were shocked and weary and afraid. What they witnessed made them avoid the company of others, I am sure they felt they couldn’t trust anyone to be just and fair anymore. I am sure that is why they left town.
They didn’t notice that someone was walking with them until He spoke to them. They shared their concerns their fears and the extreme insanity of what they had witnessed
Jesus listened to them, but He didn’t stop there, He explained to them about the necessity of His death, He encouraged them. And then when the meal was served He opened their eyes to see who it was that had kept them company on the hot and dusty road of disillusionment. It is important to note that He did not jump out of the bushes and holler “Surprise!”, no, he walked with them and shared their troubles and their sorrows.
So when you feel like you are all alone and the road is the only place left to you, when the cruelty of the world shocks and repels you and makes you wonder, with good reason, if the world is insane. And they have thrown you out to eat and sleep with the dogs, there is One who will walk with you, He is gentle and kind and He knows all about rejection.
When you are all out of options and all out of friends, you still have one friend, the most important One.
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