On Meeting God While ‘On The Road’
“There was a transitional moment of delicious uneasiness, and then – instantaneously – the long inhibition was over, the dry desert lay behind, I was off once more into the land of longing, my heart at once broken and exalted as it had never been… There was nothing whatever to do about it, no question of returning to the desert. I had simply been ordered – or, rather, compelled – to ‘take that look off my face’. And never to resume it either.” – CS Lewis in Surprised By Joy
It’s often in the unexpected that we find what we’ve been looking for.
Much of life is lived out on what I call “the road”, that is to say in the ordinary, everyday, un-extraordinary, routinely normal parts of our existence. You’re just moving along doing whatever it is that you do – work, school, chores – the daily grind. Life is just passing by as you motor along in auto-pilot, barely paying attention to what’s around you. This is life on the road. Living at this kind of steady forward pace, never anticipating that anything of any real significance could take place here.
But it’s often when we’re least expecting it that God meets us.
The disciples were out fishing when Jesus showed up and called them to follow him.
Moses was tending to the sheep in the wilderness when God spoke to him.
Levi was sitting at his tax collector’s booth when Jesus called him.
Paul was on his way to Damascus to actively put an end to God’s work when Jesus got a hold of him.
And two of the disciples, while walking on the road to Emmaus, encountered the newly resurrected Christ.
They weren’t expecting God or looking for him. They weren’t ready or prepared. They weren’t special or extra spiritual. These were regular people just living life as they always did, out on the roads of everyday life. In the hustle and bustle of work and routine. This is where God chose to meet them This is where he chose to reveal himself and call out and ultimately change the entire direction of their life in an instant. Fishermen to disciples. Shepherds to great leaders. Tax collectors to followers. Condemnation and judgement to a life of grace. Discouraged and alone to faithful and hopeful. This is the essence of repentance. An unexpected encounter that ultimately turns you toward the life that God calls you to live. It changes everything about you, making you an entirely new person as you step forward in a new direction towards the life God calls you to live.
I absolutely love this. It’s an encounter that doesn’t confine itself to church or sundays or preachers or saints. It’s the gospel and it’s for everyone, everywhere, out on the dusty roads of life.
