Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Oh my, my! It’s a blindingly beautiful, sunshiny, lazy Saturday morning! (smile) Yes friends, when you look out at the mounds of snow as the bright sunshine falls on it, it’s liable to blind you. It’s so bright and beautiful! However, as I hear the snow blowers in the distance, I know many people are not as thrilled by the looks of the snow as I am, because they are labouring to clean their driveways and walkways of the beautiful but dangerous and inconveniencing white precipitation. And no, I don’t shovel snow again, simply can’t manage it physically.
But I do remember the days I’d get out there, shovel in hand, open my garage door and the trunk of my car and blast out some tunes while I danced about and shovelled the annoying stuff. (smile) Those days are long gone though. Now I have to pay somebody to do it. And knowing your frail situation, the ole crooks take advantage of it, charging some exorbitant prices. Although the fellow I have now isn’t too bad, but he’s already warned that the price is going up by at least forty percent next year. But I’ll leave him in the capable hands of the duchess. (smile)
And for another week, I’ve not received any quotes from our friend Anselm, so for all I know he might have given us up, no longer interested in aspiring to inspire us for a better tomorrow. But we do have the true and inerrant Word of God, and there’s no better inspiration than that! So, let’s see what inspiration we can draw from it today nuh. And the first thing that came to mind was something we haven’t spoken of for a while; that’s the Great Invitation of Jesus!
Now, there couldn’t be a more inspiring, comforting and encouraging scripture than that. And if you don’t believe me, then listen up to His amazing offer, as He very cordially invites us to: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of (from) me; for I am meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble): and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ (Matt. 11:28-30)
Oh friends, that’s the most welcoming and reassuring scripture in the Good Library! And the one who refuses to accept it is nothing but a fool! For where, or to whom else can he take his burdens to and have them gladly and willingly accept them, and then give him rest from all the baggage he’s borne for so long eh? To absolutely no one else but Jesus! Satan doesn’t want your burdens. He’s more interested in placing more on you.
But Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Saviour, the God of all comfort is more than willing to relieve you of all your burdens. That’s why He sacrificed His sinless life on the cross of Calvary, so that you would have a refuge, a place of safety to go to with all your many problems, hopes, dreams, disappointments, etc. etc.
Yes my people, our Jesus is a burden bearer! He’s borne all of our sins in His sinless body, and thus set us free from the chains of sin and evil that once had us tightly wrapped up in eternal bondage. And Jesus is so generously offering us a lighter and much more interesting yoke than that laid upon us by Satan. His yoke, or discipleship is not as tyrannical and heavy as that of the devil. John puts it ever so nicely in his first epistle, when he says: ‘For this is the LOVE of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous (burdensome).’ (1 John 5:3)
And that’s the gospel truth! Unlike the cruel and hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, whom Jesus referred to thus: ‘For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.’ (Matt. 23:4) On the other hand, Jesus’ yoke offers LOVE, rest, comfort, salvation and eternal life, while all Satan offers is debilitating trouble here on earth, then eternal damnation in hellfire. Is that where we desire to spend eternity?
Definitely not! But the only other option available is to receive the goodness that Jesus offers, accept it wholeheartedly and begin living the good way that He prescribes. Remember, He is the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by Him. (John 14:6) That means you cannot attain heaven or its many benefits unless Jesus is your pathway to that glorious establishment.
What a magnificent example Jesus is to all humanity! Sinless, selfless, sacrificial, lowly, humble, meek, rooting for the poor and downtrodden, interested in healing the sick and sorrowful, intent on breaking the chains of sin that have us enslaved in darkness, the giver of light, the one who comforts us so that we can comfort others, the giver of eternal life, the fountain of living water. And those are just a few of His many marvellous attributes. If we had time, I could find many more marvellous and ever so considerate attributes of our wonderful Saviour. (smile)
And if you need more than what we’ve already listed to convince you of His serious service for mankind, then you’re not really interested, you’re only playing games, and that’s one thing Jesus doesn’t do. He is serious about life and all that it entails, with a constant sense of peace and calm, as well as times of laughter and joviality. Life with Jesus is a well-blended and balanced opportunity to do interesting and amazing things, though sometimes it calls for sacrifice, which He then anoints us with His grace to enable us to handle it.
Ah friends, once you’ve sincerely embraced Jesus, once you accept that call of His Great Invitation, your life changes drastically for the better, beginning with the indwelling of His Holy Spirit to lead and guide you along the new path, where you will grow from glory to glory, be transformed slowly into His image, so that we can fulfill the Father’s desire for a family of children like His first born Son Jesus. And the Father has promised to keep changing us into a Christ-like image until Christ returns to earth. (Phil. 1:6)
Wow! And is that ever a wonderful path to travel! The most wonderful way of life available on this earth, for although it does contain trials and tribulations, the normal ups and downs of earthly life, we’re guaranteed that the Lord will eventually work everything out for our good, and most importantly, we’ll end up with eternal life with Jesus, and not eternal separation with Satan. It’s the most exciting news in the universe and I’d invite us all to check it out without further hesitation, for our eternal destiny depends on it! Much LOVE!
…accepting Jesus’ invitation to do life with Him…is a no brainer…for the wise and understanding person…
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