Taking It Easy
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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.” (NRSV)
Anybody who’s set their heart on living a life of faith, on following hard after God, is at some point going to discover that it’s hard work. So what’s the answer? Give up and return to a life of comfort? Work harder until you break? Or is there perhaps a third option?
We all want life to be comfortable; a comfy chair, a comfy ride, good coffee, nice food, air conditioning, on-demand entertainment. Yep, we all crave comfort. And yet, there’s a part of us that needs to exert itself …you know, to stretch ourselves, to achieve things – difficult things, even sometimes, impossible things.
The trick is to get the balance right. We all need to rest and we all need to be stretched. But still … honestly, we just want life to be easy. We coast along, not allowing ourselves to be stretched. But that’s so dissatisfying, isn’t it?
So then Jesus – at least the Jesus that the Bible talks about – walks into your space and says, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Hang on a minute. I want to be comfortable. Cross? Cross?! What are you talking about?
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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.” (NRSV)
It turns out that following Jesus isn’t easy. But when we feel burdened, weary, desperately in need of rest … if only we’d go to Him, we’d discover that there’s a whole different way of walking the faith walk.
Yes, there is a price … but Jesus is right there, right here, to help you carry that load.
His yoke is easy. His burden is light.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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