Entering God's Rest(oration): COME TO ME

As you read through the Gospels, you’ll see that Jesus’ interactions with others are very interesting. His dealings with those of bad reputation (sinners & tax-collectors) wasn’t focused on His pointing out their failures or centered on the things they needed to do to become acceptable to Him & God. Rather, the message He communicated was repentance (turning from sin & a wrong way of thinking, & turning to God & His way of thinking.) And rather than wait for them to get their act together, He emphasized relationship, living out the fact that He truly is Immanu’El, God with us, by entering their homes, eating meals, & spending time with them.  It would be really difficult (& wrong) to portray Jesus (& God the Father) as cold & distant, only concerned with whether people were carefully keeping the list of “don’t do’s.”
 
Contrast that with Christ’s interactions with the religious leaders (Pharisees) & the teachers of the law (those who helped explain Torah to people.) His harshest rebukes were aimed at these 2 groups, precisely because, instead of accurately portraying God’s heart for people & His mercy & grace, they made it tremendously MORE difficult for people to come to God, leaving them weighed down with countless rules & regulations (Check out Luke 11:37-53 for one example.)

Jesus’ heart for people is illustrated in this invitation: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary & carry heavy burdens, & I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble & gentle at heart, & you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear, & the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NLT)
 
Coming to Christ isn’t a burden – it’s the LIFTING of our burdens. Coming to Him, & walking with Him brings rest to the deepest part of our hearts & souls, & allows us to live in freedom & to be becoming the very best version of ourselves.
 
My hope for this week is that we will continue to discover the rest that comes from being with Jesus, & the soul-filling joy that comes from living our lives with Him.
 

Grace, peace, & God’s blessings to you today -