The secret of the great saints
“Come to me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
If we don’t know what Jesus is talking about, it sounds like a day off. Maybe the best day off ever. Because it’s God’s version of a day off, right?
What Jesus is talking about is rest from the very thing that makes us heavy laden. When you and I weigh our hearts down with the desire to be someone we’re not.
When we look at other people and say in our hearts, “Why can’t I do what she does?” “How come I don’t get to do that?” “When is it going to be my turn?”
We weigh our hearts down. When we compare ourselves to others like that, we make ourselves heavy laden. And every day – even our day off – becomes a burden.
Because we’re missing what Jesus is saying. So here’s the rest of it.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The yoke that Jesus is talking about is not the waste of comparison, or the burden of competition.
The truth is that as long as you compare yourself and your situation to others, you will never be anything but miserable. Because there will always be someone more successful, more talented, more celebrated than you are. This is the burden that Jesus wants you to drop.
Jesus is calling you to follow Him.
Let’s be clear, Jesus is not calling you to follow Him by being someone else. Jesus is calling you to follow Him, by being you.
Before you were ever formed in your mother’s womb, He planned for you to be here. For a moment such as this. That you are you, and that you are here now, is no accident.
And He has already given you everything you need to fulfill the purpose that He has for your life.
This is what Jesus is calling you to take upon you.
The more you live true to that purpose. The more you use what He has given you, to do what He has called you to do.
The closer you follow Him. The lighter it all becomes. The less life weighs you down.
It’s the secret of the great saints. It’s the change of heart that will change the world.
It’s what St. Catherine of Siena was talking about when she said - “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire.”
pixelskylines
2087
tangentwithtanner
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
blakekathryn
