Scattered throughout Jesus’ many conversations while on earth, are invitations for people to enter into a personal relationship with Himself and His heavenly Father. One of the best-known invites is recorded in Matthew 11:28-30. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
This invitation is just as valid today as it was in the first century. Within the messiness of life of any century and within any culture, there exists an inner dissatisfaction, an inner restlessness created by sin which only God can settle through His Son Jesus.
This invitation by Jesus is not randomly directed at the masses, but to those who recognise their heavy struggle with life. He calls people humbled under the relentless difficulties of spiritual dissatisfaction, who may have even attempted to fill life with worldly pleasures. Whatever the personal circumstances, Jesus reaches out to those wanting a satisfying solution for their restlessness.
Jesus’ confident promise of supplying rest almost sounds too good to be true. So, He provides the needed details to give understanding of His promised rest.
§ We come to Jesus, and to Him alone for spiritual rest. Jesus will not share His position of being personal Lord and Saviour with others. We come to God in human flesh, not to an organisation.
§ We come to Jesus openly confessing all the sinful complexities of our lives. We abandon the idea that we need assistance to tidy things up before we come to Him. No, we surrender our all to Him in our present state as a person labouring under the load of dissatisfaction and emptiness of life.
§ We come to Jesus expecting Him to fulfill His promise using His methods and in His timing. We come without demand and without expectations of worldly pleasures or ideals being met.
§ We come to Jesus realising that we are to take His yoke of His salvation, His spiritual rebirth, and His Lordship over our lives upon ourselves. Again, this is full surrender. Salvation is not a negotiation. These are not peace talks but surrender without conditions. We come looking only for grace.
§ We come to Jesus realising that learning of Him is just beginning. Salvation is not an end, but the start line. Therefore, we do not tell Him anything other than confession and repentance. Surrender under His truths and of past worldly thinking and habits is needed to stop our heart centered battle with God.
And when we respond to Jesus in this way, we discover His fulfilled promise of rest for our souls. But notice that spiritual rest is not without spiritual weight, as Jesus said, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Living with Jesus comes with responsibilities, but by worldly standards, Jesus’ shared joke in life delivers eternal life, eternal peace with God, and eternal fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). Walking in obedience to God’s Word, lightens the spiritual load in life, even though the world may try to increase its pressure on you because of your obedience. God’s call for love through obedience is not overwhelming, but loving and protective of us.
May we all walk today having come to Jesus Christ, taking His yoke upon ourselves, and experiencing His satisfying rest for our souls.