Perspectives

Matthew 11:28-30… 28) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, 30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (NIV)

When Jesus walked on the face of this earth, he spoke to people desperately trying to find rest for their souls, and desperately trying to find God and desperately trying to be good, but they were finding the task impossible and were misguided by the same things that leads us a stray. But then Jesus gives this invitation to those of us who are searching for rest.

Many religious folks find it most difficult to truly put their trust in Christ. They may be brilliant teachers, they may be gifted leaders or simply good folks, but they can suffer from almost impenetrable blindness. Some folks have a flawless resume. If heaven could be earned from one’s accomplishments, those folks would have bushels left over. But Jesus on the other hand tries to make us aware that the cause of the restlessness in our hearts stems from a personal spiritual nature. We sometimes think that we are so good that we will be welcomed into heaven with open arms just as we are. And we cannot understand why we would have to re-construct our ideas about ourselves.

Now look what Jesus says, “Come unto me all you who are exhausted.” His invitation is to those who are exhausted with the search for the truth. To some people it is exceedingly difficult to find God, and, when they have found him, it is next to impossible to tell anyone else about him. Jesus claims that the weary search for God ends when we have found him. Can I reach God by hard work? No! That does not make sense… because Christ gives himself to the pure in heart. He asks nothing from me except that I give him my attention. The way to know God is not by my intellect, but by giving my heart to Jesus Christ, for in him we see what God is like.

Jesus says, “My burden is light.” To those who have overcome it will become to them a time of joy. It is not that the burden is easy too early, but it is given to us in love; It is meant to be carried in love, and love makes even the heaviest burden light. When we remember the love of God, when we know that our burden is to love God and to love people, then the burden becomes a song.

We should live honestly and reflectively, there will be moments when we doubt, there will be times when we will feel that the whole world is against us and our burdens are too heavy for us to bear, and we cannot cope with whatever the situation might be.

How do we keep growing during those difficulties? By risking failure and not always playing it safe. By not placing our security in the temporal. By questioning and probing the uncertain, not blindly embracing the conventional wisdom which fools most of humanity into thinking that God is love and he would never punish people. And by admitting and struggling with our humanity, not denying our limitations and fears.

All of us fight our way through doubts to firm up our convictions, we do not want to be counted with those who give up and run. And there are times when it is scary to consider abandoning those safe, secure opinions to face the doubts lurking in the shadows of our hearts. Confronting those little uncertainties almost makes us feel like we are losing it, but then comes the invitation from Jesus Christ… If you are tired and worn out, He will give us rest… To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done.

All the best In the Year 2021.

Would you pray this prayer with me … “Lord Jesus, come into my heart? Forgive my sins. I want my life to change. My thoughts and my attitude need to change. I do not have the peace in my heart that I yearn for. I really want that Peace, joy and happiness that will fulfill my heart’s desire. Please let the Holy Spirit help me be the kind of Christian that will honor Your Name.” Amen.