FLAMING HEARTS

From heavy hearts to burning hearts. That is the difference Christ made in the lives of those two disciples on their way to Emmaus so many years ago. Sorrow, fear, and disappointment were transformed into joy, courage, and resolve when these two saw Jesus Christ as the focal point of life and history. These men did not think life could ever again have purpose or that they could again experience joy. To their pleasant surprise, they could have a fuller joy and greater purpose as they became involved in the unfolding drama of God's program on earth.

The pages of God's Word came alive as they communed with this wonderful stranger. The more they learned of Christ, the more they wanted to know. The more they walked and talked with the Lord, the more joy they experienced. No longer afraid and confused, they now were ablaze with zeal for Christ. Fellowship with Christ and feeding upon His Word made all the difference.

Pitfalls, disappointments, sorrows, and heartaches often fill life. We sometimes do not want to go on. "Plugging away" seems fruitless and pointless. We need not feel that way. Meeting with Christ in the pages of His Word, the Bible, can leave us saying with those two disciples of long ago, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?"