"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28
t strikes me as ironic in the very next verse Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you" right after He says that He will give us rest. In fact, Jesus finishes his statement by saying the only way we can have rest for our souls is only if we take His yoke upon ourselves (29). But don't worry, He assures us that His "yoke is easy, and [His] burden light" (30).
Taken at face value the first part of the verse seems comforting but the rest is disconcerting. I don't picture myself being able to rest when I've just taken on a burden; I think of resting as shrugging the burdens off my shoulders. Once I forget my cares, then I don't have to worry about anything. But we know we can't fully forget about our worries, not even when we sleep due to troubling dreams.
In order to better understand Jesus's meaning, we have to look at another Gospel. In John 17:15, Jesus says, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." In this life we will never experience totally carefree rest--that is saved for our eternal rest in Heaven someday. The next day must come and new troubles with it. As I wrote about last week, we all have a mission to fulfill for the Father in this life. During that mission Jesus knows we need a break, we need rest, and we need peace. That's why he says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid" (John 14:27). The Lord provides us with emotional protection and a rejuvenated mindset when we cry out to Him--none of which the world can provide no matter how much they try to convince you. As Christians, we have the Peace and Rest of Jesus, but this comes with the yoke of responsibility and all of those burdens that being a Christian entails. My friends, the Rest of Christ is well worth taking on the yoke He shares with us. Always improve the present moment.
Comments