April 3

But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. — Luke 24:16 BSB

There’s a picture of a woman in deep sorrow, sitting by the sea, gazing out at the dark waters that have swallowed her heart’s treasures. Behind her is an angel, gently playing a harp. Yet the woman, lost in her grief, is unaware of the angel’s presence and unmoved by the heavenly music.

This is often how mourners feel when Jesus Himself comes to comfort them. In their sorrow, they don’t recognize His presence or hear His words of love.

We often seek Christ far and wide, all the while He is near us. “Sir Launfal wandered over all the earth in search of the Holy Grail, and after many years, he returned home, only to find the object of his search right under his own castle walls.”

Many times, the help and the truth we seek are close by—in the Scriptures we already possess and in the very circumstances in which we find ourselves.