In Luke 24, we read about two of Jesus's disciples who are walking to the village of Emmaus on the day that Jesus was resurrected. They were troubled and sad and confused and did not know what to believe. They were in desperate need of counsel and guidance and help. Someone joined them in their walk. They did not know who it was, but this person saw how much they were struggling and he offered to help them. For hours He patiently explained and taught them truths and comforted them in their afflictions and in general was a great blessing to them when they needed it the most. But while these two men knew and had walked and talked with Jesus and He was foremost on their minds, they were nonetheless too preoccupied with their own grief and pain to recognize that Jesus had been right in front of them for the whole afternoon and well into the evening. But as much as it might hurt for some of His closest friends to not even recognize Him, Christ never once showed anything but love as He helped these two men on what must have been some of the very worst days of their lives. Jesus does not want or need credit or recognition for helping us. If we are in a place where we don't feel worthy or are struggling with anger or mistrust of our Savior and would reject any assistance or grace if we knew that it came from Him, such ambivalence or hostility is not going to stop Jesus from helping us. Christ will disguise Himself if that is what it takes for us to accept His help. If we are drowning in the middle of the ocean and He walks out to pull us up but we refuse, then he'll send us a boat or a helicopter and if all of that fails, then maybe He will send a whale to swallow us and spit us up back on shore. The most important thing to Him is that we are saved. Thank God that Jesus is meek and humble enough to make Himself small enough to slip past the cracks in our defenses and to appear before us in a form that we are willing to accept. I hope that we can follow His example. I hope that we will care about loving and blessing the lives of our brothers and sisters more than we care about getting credit or recognition. So if we have to be anonymous or work through back channels to get someone the help they need, then let's do it! “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:4). If we must become masters of disguise to help those in need, then surely Jesus, the undisputed Master of all things, including disguises, will help us to truly be blessings in disguise for those who need it most.
