This word – ALMOST
– has been a silent intruder into our vocabulary. We use it when we come in short; when we miss
the mark; when we never finish what we’ve begun.
I enjoy reading the passage in Luke 24: 13-21. Take a moment and look with me on the Road to Emmaus…
” Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.
He asked
them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They
stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you
the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened
there in these days?”
“What things?” he
asked. “About
Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word
and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him
over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he
was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the
third day since all this took place.
The
road to Emmaus was a road of “ALMOST”!
The word them does not clearly
identify who the two are. They are not
two of the eleven disciples. Probably
they are two of the followers of Jesus who had come to Jerusalem for the
Passover. Jesus approaches these two
disheartened followers as they were walking with their faces downcast. They are discussing the events that had taken
place in Jerusalem and Jesus decided to add to the conversation. Here
are these followers discussing previous events and the Main Event is right in
front of them!
I am captivated with the phrase – “WE HAD
HOPED that HE WAS THE ONE”. Talk about a
verse that is showered with “almosts”!
I
am reminded of what Max Lucado said in “No Wonder They Call Him The Savior”,
For our own good, Jesus demanded and demands
absolute obedience. He never has room
for “almost” in His vocabulary. You are
either with Him or against Him. With
Jesus...”next time” has to become “this time”.
No, Jesus never had room for “almost” and still doesn’t. “Almost” may count in horseshoes and hand
grenades, but with the Master, it is just as good as a “Never”.
(p 82)
Imagine for a
moment if the word “Almost” would have been a part of the Life of Christ. He almost wasn’t born. He almost didn’t have a ministry for lost
souls. He almost didn’t die on the cross
with the weight of the sins of the world on His shoulders. And He almost didn’t rise from the grave for
the world to know that His Father has power over life and death. Almost
was never part of the plan of God!
It is not part of His vocabulary.
Starting today
–Let’s find assurance in the arms of the Master – let’s get rid of all the
“almosts”. Know that He did it – He is the victor. The babe in the manger now sits at His
Father’s right hand of the throne.
I
heard a great statement on the radio this week and maybe it will help you deal
with the “almosts” that have already
come and gone –
“It is ok to for us to look at our past – just don’t STARE at
it. Look to the future!”
Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus! An awesome version of the verse in Hebrews 12
verses 2 and 3 comes out of The Message “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in.
Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that
exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the
way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right
alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that
story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through.
That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
Have a great week!
Less
of Me More of Him,
