Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
– Luke 24: 31-32
There's an old story about three blindfolded men, who were asked to touch and identify an undisclosed object. And that object happened to be a live African elephant.
The first man touched the elephant's muscular trunk. The second man grasped its boney tale. And the third man — moving his hands across the beast's rugged hide — marveled at the rough texture. Although a 10,000-pound elephant was right in front of them, all three failed to see the big picture.
Many people these days also miss the big picture when it comes to spiritual matters. And that's even true for some long-time Christ-followers. So, to correct this shortsightedness, God has throughout history communicated his message in several ways, including through prophets, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and of course his Son, Jesus.
God also uses angels to help spread the word. These beings are his special messengers who can appear in broad daylight, remain invisible, or communicate through dreams. The Bible advises us to remain hospitable because we might be entertaining angels without even knowing it.
Angelic messages are much more than words of conversation. Instead, they’re words that change eternity. It's in Luke’s gospel that we read about the angel Gabriel, who told an obscure girl named Mary that she’d soon give birth to the Savior of mankind. In a dream, an angel informed Joseph (Mary's fiancé) that the Holy Spirit had caused her pregnancy. Likewise, angels announced the Good News of Jesus' birth to shepherds, who’d seen a brilliant star in the sky marking the Christ-child’s location in Bethlehem.
It's through these revelations and confirmations that God has opened eyes and healed spiritual blindness — and not just in a tiny village somewhere in the Middle East 2,000 years ago. His big picture message continues to appear today … and unfold to the entire world.
It's the reality that's right before our eyes. But first, we must be willing to see it. So, here’s the BIG question for you and me: Are we spiritually aware of how Jesus is revealing Himself in both small ways and large?
That’s the elephant in the room.
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