On The Other Side of Rain

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The Old Goat’s Coat

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On The Other Side of Rain

by Dr. Alan Hix

There is an old saying: “April showers bring May flowers.” For many of us, when we hear this, what we focus on are the flowers. Flowers are the positive result of a season of rain. I suspect that only a few of us would focus on the rain. We prefer to celebrate the end result. However, when we are in the middle of a downpour, that tends to be our focus. It’s hard for us to think about running through a field of flowers on a sunny day when we are dodging mud puddles.

In Luke 24:13-35, we have a story that begins with two disciples of Jesus trudging along in the middle of some emotional showers. Along the way, they are approached by a stranger. 17He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19“What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.

Notice how they are “downcast.” Their hopes had come tumbling down. Their expectation that God was doing something special through the life of Jesus had been crushed, for Jesus had been shamefully executed at the urging of their own religious leaders. There was nothing left to hope for because Jesus was dead.

Luke lets his readers in on a secret. The “stranger” was actually Jesus who had been raised from the dead, only they did not recognize Him. Jesus challenges their hopelessness. 25He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Jesus’ followers were so absorbed in the tragedy of the events they witnessed, that they did not think to search the Scriptures to understand what had happened as an essential part of God’s plan of salvation. Jesus helped them to see that all along, God had planned for there to be “flowers” after the “rain.”

This is an encouragement to us when we struggle. When our vision is filled with our present crisis, all we can see are the “showers.” Jesus calls us to focus on Him. We cannot know Him as a healer, restorer, or redeemer until we have needed healing, restoring, and redeeming. He is the flower on the other side of life’s showers. To borrow a line from a famous sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!”

About The Author Dr. Alan Hix is an Associate Professor of Christian Studies at Shorter University. In addition to being and educator, he has served churches as a pastor, been involved in mission trips to Africa, Canada, and Alaska, and participated in archaeological excavations in Israel for several years.