Good morning. Please let your mind go back to that time so long ago when Jesus was ministering to the people of that age, face to face.
They came to Him. Young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, men and women, Jews and even some gentiles. They came to Jesus to hear what He had to say and to receive what He was offering.
The people came to Jesus, bringing to Him the burdens of their hearts, of their lives. They brought disappointments, failures, dashed hopes, dreams that never came true.
The people came to Jesus, bringing fears and worries, hunger and pain, stories of love lost and heartache. They came to Jesus because they had no where else to go, no one else to turn to.
The people came to Jesus, they brought exhaustion, lives that were burdened to the point of collapse.
The people came to Jesus.
When they found Jesus, He did not give them religion. Jesus did not suggest new and better doctrines, new ceremonies to follow, new systems to employ.
When the people found Jesus, he offered them something they would never think to ask for…Jesus offered them rest: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.Matthew 11:28-29
We live in a world that wants to believe that Jesus is just one more religion. They have bought the enemy’s lies that tell them that knowing Jesus will cost them, will suck them dry.
What a lie! The opposite is true. But I wonder if we, today’s Christian family, who recognize that we are tasked with sharing His Good News with a lost world, have missed that critical point?
We too live in a world that is exhausted, burdened to the point of collapse. So many of the people around us feel as though life is sucking them dry, and they fear the notion of adding anything else to their lives, additional burdens to drain their time, energy, and resources.
Our message to them, and our message of reminder to one another, must be this: Jesus, your Savior, is offering you rest. He is not adding burdens, He is taking them away.
Jesus, He is our refreshement in a thirsty world.
Vern