This was my "Verse of the Day" from the YouVersion bible app. I generally read this either when I first wake up or when I first get into work. Usually it's something I post to Facebook, ponder for a little while, and maybe text to a few friends. But this morning... this morning is different. This morning this is a verse I want to talk to more people about... because not only is it full of TRUTH, but it also fills me with conviction. We'll start with the truth part... and then move forward. So stick with me here.
The Truth of the matter, is that Jesus was foreshadowing in a HUGE way what was eventually going to happen. At the same time... it's a sign of what is to come for us now as well. If we are willing to lay down our lives, and follow Christ... He will give us rest. That doesn't mean that we won't be weary or carry heavy burdens. Not at all. Jesus doesn't say "If you follow me I will make everything in your life perfect, and you will never, ever be burdened again." Jesus knew that we were going to carry burdens, that we would sin and fall away from God. That didn't stop Him from loving us... in fact, it made him love us so much that He gave His life for us. The words that He spoke above, are the results of what was done at The Cross. The Cross, The Crucifixion of Christ... is how He provided us with rest. Because He died and gave His life, we can find rest when we are weary, and relief when we are burdened because we have salvation through His death and resurrection. There's also some conviction there...
I started thinking about Jesus' life, and what He knew about the way His life would end (*The following comments are made from the understanding that Jesus is both man and God, 1/3 of the Holy Trinity). It hit me that, not only was He foreshadowing when He made that statement... but the really crazy thing (to me at least) is that He knew what was coming and He was still talking about US being weary and burdened. As though what we as humans were/are going through was/is ANYTHING compared to the weariness and burden He was going to face as He carried the cross to His own death. I mean... this Cross was HUGE. You want to talk about a burden weighing you down... and yet, even in the midst of what He was about to face.. a terrible, horrific, painful, torturous death-- and He was concerned about my burdens, about my weariness, about ME. That's something I'll never understand... I'll never understand how God could love a group of wretched sinners so much, that He would send His Only Son to die on The Cross, face weariness, burden, pain, torture, and death for a bunch of people that... in all honesty... didn't appreciate (and largely still don't) the sacrifice He made. While I was sitting there thinking about the implication this realization needed to have on my life... I started thinking about the kind of man I want to be. The kind of man God is calling me to be. And I realized I can't fathom what He is going to do with my life. So, sitting at my desk, I took a few minutes to grab my Bible and I turned to the Book of Job... this is what I read next--
"But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before Him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted." Job 5:8-9
Funny how God does that, huh? Right there, in the passage God laid on my heart... I find an answer to what I was thinking about. That answer is that I want to be a man that appeals to God. I want to run to God with every question, every prayer, every yearning, every desire, every longing in my heart... and lay it before Him. I want to do those things, because like the above verse states, He can perform wonders that I cannot fathom and He can perform miracles that I cannot count. I don't need to know how or why He does those things. I just need to trust it. I need to be honest about what I want/desire/long for, lay it before Him and trust that He will provide whatever it is He wants/desires/longs for in me, my life, and my service to Him. If I go to Him, He will give me rest... because, well... He already has. He gave me rest from my burdens when He offered a chance at forgiveness for the sins I had not yet committed. In thinking about that, I realize that my life... is the least I can offer in repayment.
Grace and Peace
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