“Come to me, all you who are WEARY and BURDENED, and I will GIVE YOU REST. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
The simplicity of Jesus’s promise is both remarkable and refreshing. Jesus doesn’t offer us a “four-fold path” to peace-giving enlightenment, LIKE THE BUDDHA DID. He doesn’t give us “five pillars” of peace through submission as ISLAM does. Nor does He give us “10 Ways to Relieve Your Weariness,” which we rationalize, with the SELF–HELP-oriented 21st century teaching as many Americans are so drawn to. Unique to anyone else in human history, Jesus simply “OFFERS HIMSELF” as the ENTIRE SOLUTION TO ALL that burdens us.
- COME TO ME: He says, and I will GIVE YOU REST (anapausis: termination from labor, refreshment)! He is saying, “believe in WHO I CLAIM TO BE and therefore WHAT I AM ABLE TO DO FOR YOU.”
- TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU: and learn from me. “Cast your anxieties on me for I care for you” (1 Peter 5:7). “Trust in Me with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) “and you will find rest for your souls.”
- MY YOKE IS EASY AND MY BURDEN IS LIGHT: when we are in relationship with Jesus, He invites us to get into the yoke (get “saved” be “born again”) WITH HIM! Remember Jesus is OMNISCIENT, OMNIPRESENT, and OMNIPOTENT!!! He is truly our ALL–IN–ALL.
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham