Jesus calls out to all of us who laboring and burdened, “come to me.” This invitation is made to those who find themselves exhausted from endless work. From a perspective of faith this is those who feel the heavy burden of their own sins, the struggles of daily life, and the limitations of our human nature.
A promise is made that through Him we will come to find our rest. From such a promise we are immediately told to “take my yoke upon you.” A yoke is a wooden beam used to join two animals together in order that they may pull a plow. We are not to pull this plow alone, but by taking His yoke and being joined unto Him.
It is He who is the stronger partner in this bond who does the heavy lifting while we walk alongside Him. The yoke of Christ is easy for it is tailored to the person and driven by love, which makes even difficult sacrifices feel as if they are light. From the Greek this word “easy” also means “well-fitting.”
In promising rest Jesus is not promising a permanent vacation from the difficulties of this life. We cannot forget the reality of the cross for through it we come to see transformed suffering which brings forth redemption. As we were reminded only last Sunday, “whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
By encountering such rest we come to encounter the peace that Christ alone can bring into our life. With our trust placed in Him we come to understand that we are not the master of own destiny. When we are able to surrender our need to fix everything on our own, we find deep, interior tranquility for we have found our rest in Christ.
As Saint Augustine stated, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Such a statement invites us to remember the Sabbath rest. Through discovering such rest we step out of the chaos of this world to remember that we are God’s children and are in need of cultivating such a relationship with Him.
The world in which we live is fast paced and thus we cannot even rest for one day. Let us be intentional about how we observe Sunday as a day of rest and not just as another day of the week to get caught up in all that burdens us. The burdens of this life will continue and we will never find rest from them if we refuse to be joined to Christ and find our rest in Him.
Let us turn that area of our life, where we have been attempted to plow own, to one that is yoked to Him. Through such a mentality we invite Christ to enter into that specific struggle, not that it may be removed, but in order that we may find peace. Let us heed this invitation to rest by giving not into despair and attempting to overcome it on our own, but yoked to Christ the Prince of Peace.
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