The most exhilarating part of the Saviour's earthly life would have to be post resurrection. I can only imagine the hope and speculation that would have circulated in the midst of His followers as the news spread that He lived again. My favourite of the events recorded of that time is his walk with two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32) because this seemingly unimportant event has a connection to something very dear to my heart. It is of great marvel to me that when the two men recounted the story of His crucifixion and resurrection with dubious narration, the Saviour did not reveal himself to them to prove the story was true. Instead He chose to expound all the scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27) because they are they which testify of Him and His personification as the Messiah and the Saviour of the world (John 5:39). It was not until after the scriptures were expounded to them that they understood who He was. I have often wondered what the lesson was in all this. What was the Saviour trying to teach them? Perhaps that having the scriptures is the same as having Him in their midst as with the scriptures comes the power of the Spirit to enable all to believe in His divinity. This is attested by the two disciples who proclaimed upon His departure from them, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he........opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32).
Who do you see when you study the scriptures? The brave Jeremiah, the poetic Isaiah, the obedient Nephi, the repentant Alma? It is hard not to see these prominent and prolific figures. The challenge is and always will be, however, to see Christ on every page; whether in prophecies, in doctrine, in His dealings with humanity or valuable lessons learnt through the characters enshrined in the holy writ. I will tell you what I see: in the Old Testament I see the merciful Jehovah; in the New Testament I see the loving Saviour; in the Book of Mormon, I see the promised Messiah; and in the Doctrine and Covenants I see the majestic Christ. I have mentioned Ahab before who was the most wicked king of the northern kingdom of Israel. So wicked was he that Elijah told him the Lord will annihilate his whole posterity. Ahab did not repent but it took just one episode of sorrow on Ahab's part to evoke Jehovah's mercy. Because his sorrow brought him to the depths of humility the Lord told Elijah that his punishment will not be meted out in his life time but in the life time of his son (1 Kings 21:29). And did not the Saviour prove that 'greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13) as he willingly remained on the cross until the suffering was complete and finished (John 19:28-30)? And who could not feel the anguish of Nephi as he prayed all day for deliverance from persecution and what joy must have filled his soul as he heard the expected Messiah say: "Lift up your head and be of good cheer......for on the morrow come I into the world...(3 Nephi 1:13)? And who can read Doctrine and Covenants and not be in awe of the majestic Christ who has overcome all, and risen above all '.....for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Saviour....Great is His wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out' (D&C 76:1,2)
There was a time in my life when I felt I had nothing to live for. This is when the scriptures became my saving grace. They who testified of Him gave me strength to endure and to hope for 'life eternal because of my faith in him according to the promise' (Moroni 7:41). They renewed me because I came to know Him who renews all things and makes all things possible; Him who brings life to all that is dead and recovers all that is lost. In Him alone is safe harbour. In Him alone is endurance. In Him alone is life everlasting.
May we all believe that there is a life beyond our worst moments and may we find this belief within the pages of a book that can give us this life as expressed in a story of a man whose business was failing terribly and who was so deep in trouble that he was contemplating suicide. As a last resort he went to a priest who advised him to take a beach chair and a Bible to the water's edge, put the Bible on his lap, to open it and let the wind rifle the pages and when it rests on a page he should read the first words he sees. He assured him this will be his answer that will tell him what to do. A year later this same businessman went back to the priest in apparent affluence and success. The priest asked him if he did what he instructed him to do. The man assured him he did.
"You sat on a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?"
"Absolutely"
"You let the pages rifle until they stopped?"
"Absolutely"
"And what were the first words you saw?"
"Chapter II"
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