Matt 11:27-30: "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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.30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.
We all live in this world, which is full of chaos and busyness. Our world is grasping for every moment that we have and there seems to be no end to it. Every part of our being is screaming for us just to slow down and block out the noise of this world. However, so often, we ignore that tug and we continue on this path until the inevitable happens, either a physical or a mental breakdown, which is truly the result of a spiritual breakdown. When we let the world have more of our time then we give God there exists an imbalance, that when left to its conclusion will cause us to have a spiritual breakdown. The world’s goal is for you to fill up your life with so much stuff that you will squeeze out God and the other responsibilities that God has given you.
A ministry calling is a huge responsibility. However, Jesus never called you to neglect the other responsibilities that He also gave you. Your marriage is also a ministry, your job is a ministry, your church is a ministry, and your Sabbaths are a ministry. Jesus never called you to neglect your spouse because you have decided that your kid’s sports interests are more important. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” It is not being Christ-like to be lazy, to be sure; however, Jesus does not want you to be an ineffective servant by filling your time with unhealthy busyness. Margin in our lives is necessary. It is necessary for our physical, emotional, and most importantly our spiritual well-being. There will always be one more thing to add to your to-do list, and one more place to bring the kids, and one more client to see. Jesus speaks many times about how having peace and rest in ones life is an essential distinction between Christ-followers and the world.
We are given an awesome invitation and that invitation is to take Jesus’ yoke, because his is easy. We all too often carry a burden we were never meant to carry. We pile so much on our lives and raise the bar so high that we can never meet our unrealistic expectations. Jesus tells us it should not be like this. When we live the “all-go no quit” until you drop lifestyle, we shortchange our families, our selves, and our savior. Jesus said, Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” If you do not build margin in your life, God will.
Tomorrows Readings:
Old Testament: Gen 36-37 New Testament Matt 12:1-21
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