OPINION —
Have you ever had a moment in your life when something finally just “clicked?” Maybe it was something you had heard before. Maybe it was something that you had heard many times before, but for some reason, this time, it was different. The pieces just seem to come together all at once. And what once felt distant, suddenly felt personal. What once felt simply like information, suddenly felt like truth. It’s a strange feeling. Nothing has changed, yet oddly enough, everything has changed.
As a medic in the Air Force, I remember many years ago sitting in a classroom learning why it was important to always check first whether the scene was safe before entering in to provide medical care. In fact, this was something I had probably heard hundreds of times between classroom settings and training sessions. But then one day, while deployed in Afghanistan, thousands of miles away from home and the classroom and training environment, what I had heard so many times before, landed just a little bit differently. It wasn’t anything new but it finally, clicked. And what I had a previous knowledge of, became real. It became a part of me; a part of who I was. It wasn’t just something to understand — it was something to feel. And from that moment on, I couldn’t look at it the same way again.
That’s the kind of moment we see in Luke 24. Two disciples are walking along the road to a village called, Emmaus. As they walk, we’re told they’re talking about all the events that had recently taken place regarding Jesus. The upper room, the arrest in the garden, the false accusations made against Him; His death, the empty tomb, and the confusion surrounding all of it. You see, they had believed in Him. They had hoped in Him, placed all of their trust in Him, but now, they were trying to make it all make sense.
Then Jesus Himself appears and walks with them. And what makes this story hit so close to home is that they don’t even recognize Him. They talk with Him, they listen to Him, they even explain to Him what had happened; all without realizing they were speaking to the very One they were describing.
It’s almost hard to imagine. But if we’re being honest, it’s not as unfamiliar as it sounds. Because sometimes we can be close to Jesus and still not fully see Him. We hear His words, we know all the stories, we even understand the facts. Yet something still hasn’t come alive within us.
But then something changes.
As they walk, Jesus begins to open the Scriptures to them. He shows them how everything—from Moses to the prophets—pointed to Him. He doesn’t rush them, He doesn’t overwhelm them, He doesn’t even perform a small miracle to open their eyes. Notice again what He does. He simply turns to Scripture and He begins to walk with them and reveal the truth, step by step. Do you see what He is doing? Right here, in this moment, Jesus is knocking. And how do they respond? They get to where they are going and they invite Him in. Now, they are ready. And it’s at this moment, at the table, as He breaks bread, their eyes are opened. They finally see Him. And in the blink of an eyes, just as suddenly as He had appeared, He is gone. But something remains. They look at each other and say, “Did not our heart burn within us…?”
That’s the moment. Not just for them, but for us today as well.
Not just understanding — but awakening.
Not just knowledge — but the beginning of transformation.
Their hearts were stirred not because they had all the answers, but because they had encountered the truth in a way that reached them deeply. And immediately, just like that, everything changes. They get up. They go back. They tell others. Because when something truly comes alive in you, when Christ becomes alive in you, it’s impossible to keep it to yourself.
The same still rings true today. It’s possible to know about Jesus without truly experiencing Him. It’s possible to hear truth without letting it take root. But when we allow Him to open His Word to us — when we slow down, listen, and respond, something begins to happen within us. Truth stops being distant. It’s no longer something that we know, it’s something that becomes very personal. And when that happens, it doesn’t just inform your life or give you a better understanding; It changes it.
So maybe the question today isn’t whether you’ve heard about Jesus before. Maybe the better question is: Have you invited Him to come into your life? Have you invited Him to walk with you and talk with you? Have you invited Him to enter into the dark and often lonely places of our life where only He can provide peace? Because once you do; once you allow Him to reveal Himself in your life, to walk with you, talk with you, to enter into the place you’re at and allow Him to open your eyes to who He truly is, it all just clicks.
