“And they said one to another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked to us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32
When Christ speaks to us, He always does so by the Holy Spirit, as the hymnwriter put it, “…in accents clear and still.” He also speaks as no man speaks, for in His voice and words, whether they be quiet or loud, they are always accompanied by the Spirit and with power. To the believer especially, there is an effect of His words, like the wind that we do not see yet producing effects upon the objects it blows upon. Christ’s words are not given to entertain the soul, though there is at times great joy in hearing them, for they declare forgiveness and cleansing, freedom from sin, the world, and the devil, healing to the sick, and sight to the blind. By His words He is in truth, “…a very present Help in time of trouble,” and at the same time, the gracious and wondrous Shepherd who gently leads His flock, and the individual sheep. His words are also, as the Lord Himself declared: “…like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29) And so was the experience of the two disciples, who were on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The resurrected Christ joined them, though they did not recognize Him at first. Christ began to inquire as to what they had been speaking about, and also concerning their apparent sadness. Upon hearing that they had been talking about Jesus of Nazareth, and what had recently occurred, Jesus first of all rebuked them by saying, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe ALL that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?” (Lk. 24:25,26) Scripture tells us that Jesus, …beginning with Moses’ writings, and those of all the prophets, (He) …expounded unto them in ALL the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (v.27) It would not be until Jesus was seated with them to eat, and after He “took bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave (it) to them,…that their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. It was then that Jesus disappeared, leaving behind Him the testimony of His words spoken to the disciples, for it was then that they asked the question: “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (24:32)
It is at this point, that as seekers of Christ, and believers, that we need to ask ourselves the question: “Does Christ truly speak to us today?” The answer is “yes” to the one who is truly, honestly seeking Him. Christianity is not only a means of discovering and knowing the truth as it is in Christ, but of knowing the One who speaks life into the dead. The reason for this is found in Christ’s own words in the Gospel of John: “..the words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.:” (6:63) When Christ speaks to the heart through His written word, He speaks living words, life-giving words, words that are accompanied by the very authority given to the Son by the Father, and demonstrated by the working of the Spirit.
In E.M. Grimes’ wonderful hymn, “Speak Lord In The Stillness,” he writes: “Speak, Lord, in the stillness, While I wait on Thee; Hush’d my heart to listen In expectancy. Speak, O blessed Master, In this quiet hour; Let me see Thy face, Lord, Feel Thy touch of power. For the words Thou speakest, They are life indeed; Living bread from heaven, Now my spirit feed.” What is Mr. Grimes seeking to communicate here? It is by his hymn and prayer that he declares that Christ does indeed speak today, in the stillness of the expectant heart, words that are burning, because they are life and Spirit.
Dear Father, Speak life-giving words to our hearts today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.