The Girl Next Door ☎︎: Swimming with the Current of God's Grace

As the end of the school year approaches, many people are weighed down with countless undone and daunting tasks. When items keep piling up on my To Do list, when I am overwhelmed with unsolved problems, or when I am running on little to no sleep, I often think of this verse:

{ 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 }

Although during those busy times, this passage does comfort me, God has recently used this passage to teach me about a different kind of rest. The kind of rest Jesus is actually talking about in this verse is spiritual rest. Rest for the soul. Freedom from spiritual fatigue. Sometimes the religious aspect of my life can be far more wearisome than the other parts. Always working to complete our Christian to-dos, always failing, and always having to keep up with the super spiritual women is exhausting! The Christian life is not meant to be burdensome! If we experience spiritual fatigue, then we have an inaccurate view of the faith. If our yoke is hard to carry, then we are not carrying Jesus' yoke.

The beginning of this passage mentions two types of burdens people add on to their "yoke" or obligations. "Labor" refers to the burdens we put on ourselves. Christians are prone to create their own standards for Christian living. They feel as if they need to modify their behavior in order to gain the Lord's approval. Like the Galatians, they create a new form of the gospel. One that involves works. A self-sufficient gospel that does not include, let alone depend on, the work of Christ. The discipline-driven gospel is not an obvious mindset. It is a slow process that many believers who have been saved for years slip into again and again. A works based mentality is often subtle and hard to spot.

"Heavy laden" refers to the burdens others put on us. At the time, the Pharisees were enforcing oppressive laws that were heavy and hard to follow, the complete opposite of Christ's obligation for His followers. Do not mistake the world's rules with God's commands. We can easily complicate the gospel. In reality, it is simple. It is freeing. It is not without responsibility or effort, but it is joyfully working out our salvation through the Lord's unending mercy and unconditional love. Christ's commands must be submitted to, but they are easier to be kept.

{ They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. Matthew 23:4 }

Jesus' character makes Him qualified to bear our burdens. He is humble, gentle, and fully capable of handling our sin and shame. While the Pharisee leaders were prideful and harsh, Jesus is lowly and gentle. Borne alone, the yoke (or Christian obligations) is unbearable, but with Jesus' help it is easy and light. If we go to Him, He will give us rest.

If your yoke is heavy, you are not carrying the one Jesus intended you to bear. You are adding weight to it. You are swimming against the current of God's grace. Live in the freedom that God's mercy enables you to live in. Come to Him. Lay down your burdens. Lay down your shame. Let Him help you with the load! You are going to mess up again and again, but the work of Christ is finished! You cannot do anything to make yourself acceptable in God's eyes. Jesus did that for you once and for all. Give up your inability and weakness and live by faith that Christ saved you and is strong enough to carry your sin.