Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.
This is the second of eight Bible verses that I will be posting during Holy Week. I wanted to take this week to set aside the silly posts that I normally make in order to spend some time reflecting upon the amazing words of Jesus.
These words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 11:28-30 are some of my favorite words in the whole Bible because they ring so true in my own life.
I’ve tried to find rest in a lot of things other than God. I’ve tried to get my ultimate satisfaction from sports, from entertainment, from knowledge, from nature, from friends, from family--you name it, I’ve probably tried it. But it all ultimately left me feeling empty because nothing in creation can compare to the ultimate glory of the Creator.
In this passage we see the Word, through whom all things were created, beckoning us imperfect creatures to come to him, to taste what true rest tastes like, to realize that we’ve been settling for less when he longs to give us more.
This isn’t just some lazy afternoon watching Netflix type of rest Christ is talking about here. No, he’s talking about literal re-creation. He’s talking about completely changing your worldview so that life is no longer simply about making the most money or getting the most things or becoming as famous as possible (all things that will ultimately leave you empty). Instead, when you accept Christ’s rest, life becomes simply about becoming more like Christ. Now, I know that may sound strange, but doesn’t it make sense? Why would you want to dedicate your life to anything other than becoming more and more like the only true giver of life?
There’s no one person more worthy of emulation than Christ. He had literally everything and yet chose to make himself nothing in order to save us because he loves us. Such unparalleled sacrificial love is hard to ignore. So why on earth would I ignore the giver of that love when he says, “Come to me”?
I’m weary and I’m burdened. Every day I mourn for the state of the world and the state of my sinful heart, and I long for redemption because I know that this is not how it’s supposed to be.
If his yoke means sacrificing all of my selfish ambitions in order that I might experience that beautiful rest, that perfect peace that surpasses all understanding, then why would I not just do that? There’s no hope for me down here, so why would I not put my hope in Christ?
Just to be clear, I’m not saying that I’m perfect. I’m not saying that I’ve put aside all of my selfishness and achieved some sort of spiritual enlightenment. That could not be further from the truth! I struggle with the truth of this passage every day because I sin and fall short of his glory every day. But that’s okay because I don’t have to be perfect, since he was already perfect for me! I’m free to pursue him without fear of falling short because I can never fall short of his unfailing love for me.
That’s why his yoke is easy and his burden is light: It’s because he’s already bore the weight of that yoke and that burden for us! He defeated that old heavy burden of death when he rose from the grave on that first Easter Sunday, so why go on living another day needlessly bearing it, needlessly fearing death?
In Christ there is no death; there is only true, unshakable rest.
I hope something from this passage or something I’ve written about this passage has struck a chord within you. If any of it has, then I would encourage you to pick up a Bible and read the Gospel of Matthew and then the rest of the Gospels. They have the power to transform your mind and fill your heart with joy.
Come, experience Christ’s true rest with me. Believe me, you won’t regret it!