What burns within your heart?

They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭24:32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There have been times when I wanted to walk back into my Freshman remedial math class. The first time I entered the classroom, defeat hung my head low.

The class was packed. I slid into one of the last seats available in the back. I would not look at anyone, focusing on my desk, willing the class to start so it could end.

In elementary school, I was tested for learning disabilities. I passed those tests. So I was labeled. Slow. Slow to read. Slow to understand. Slow to learn. 

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Our verse depicts a conversation between two disciples, the day of Christs’ resurrection. They were sad. Stumbled by Christ’s crucifixion, his empty tomb, and odd reports about non-human appearances at the tomb, Jesus met them in the middle of their conversation. 

What conversation do you need Jesus to meet you in the middle of? Please share in the comments below.

Jesus accused them of being ‘slow of heart’. v25 They did not recognize him. So he told of all the ways Scripture pointed toward him. (Wouldn’t you have loved to hear Jesus talk of himself this way? To have been an ant on the ground!)

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All the chatter and movement in my class disappeared as Mr. Wise took command of the class. He stood holding a stack of paper, each page representing a student who did not graduate with their graduating class the year before. He went on to explain that we had a choice and a chance to do something different. He taught for fifteen minutes, not teaching math. Rather, explaining we had the choice to succeed or fail.

Every day of class, he started the same way. He was faithful to address what needed addressing. Our lack of faith in ourselves, the process, and our abilities. The choice and the opportunity were ours. To learn or not to learn.

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The two disciples realized the man who taught them as they walked was Jesus Christ, resurrected. In that very precious moment of realization, Jesus disappeared.

But they do not step back into despair! They realized their hearts were ‘burning’ when Jesus had told them about all the Scriptures testifying his purpose. 

Before the end of that hour, they went out and told other disciples what had occurred.

They were a voice to confirm Jesus had fulfilled the scriptures, rising from the grave.

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Mr. Wise does not start my days with truthful encouragement anymore. It has been a few decades since I sat in his class. But his words of truth did set me on a path of learning to believe and trust that I could do the work.

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Jesus bridged the two disciples from discouragement to belief.

They then bridged their belief to the other disciples who had not yet seen the resurrected Christ.

The bible bridges the story of Christ for us, to believe, and hopefully not be slow of heart.

Mr. Wise bridged understanding learning for me. I believed I was slow to learn, but upon hearing his talks, my heart burned to learn. 

As an adult, I discovered I do indeed have a learning disability. Gratefully, I have found other ways to learn, ways that work for me.

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God,

Show us anything downcast in us. Maybe we are very aware of the discouragement we are carrying around. We don’t want to believe the lie that there is no hope.

Guide us in your word and someone onto our path, to fan the spark of faith. May it burn action in us. Use our testimony to fan some else’s spark of faith to burn brightly.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The name of the teacher was changed for anonymity.

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”