By
Allen White
At that time Jesus said, “I praise you,
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the
wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this
is what you were pleased to do.
“All things have been committed to me by my
Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father
except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
“Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:25-30
Trying to live up
to God’s standard is a heavy burden. God’s law was never meant to champion
success, but to display failure. Even the religious leaders of Jesus’ day who
thought they had it all dialed in had to offer animal sacrifices for their
sins.
There’s a big
difference between a relationship based on conditions and a relationship based
on love. In conditional relationships, we constantly wait for the other shoe to
drop. The belief is we are only one mistake away from permanent failure. It’s a
heavy burden.
Being in a
relationship where you feel forced to avoid mistakes is an exhausting burden.
It’s one thing to make a relationship work, but it’s another thing to live in
the fear and frustration that you’ll never measure up.
But, if you live in
a loving relationship, you understand that the other person loves and accepts
you just the way you are. Sure, there are things that will make the
relationship easier or more difficult, but you know that most things are not catastrophic.
Unconditional love
says we are loved no matter what. Despite our circumstances, our past, our
failures, our sin, our mistakes, our guilt and our shame, God will never, no
not ever, give up on us (John 10:28). That’s a little hard to believe.
Often we feel a
need to earn God’s grace. We’ve experienced too many free gifts with strings
attached. The “no obligation” offers somehow end up coming with obligations.
The promise of rest and an easy burden sounds too good to be true. Yet, this is
what God desires for us.
There is a part of
all of us that resists needing God as much as we really do. If we can actually
do things right, then we don’t have to ask God for forgiveness. We don’t have
to feel guilty. After all, we didn’t do anything wrong.
Yet, this kind of
thinking and need for control actually misses the point. Right or wrong, good
or bad, God loves us, and He always will. While there are certainly consequences
for our actions, being rejected by God is not one of them.
Why are we working
so hard to please someone who is already pleased with us? Some people work hard
to please God so their lives will be problem-free. How well is that working?
Problems come to every life no matter how you live it.
So, should we just
live our lives any way we want to? Is that what God is leading you to do? Is
that what’s truly in your heart? Living outside of God’s will places an equally
heavy burden on our lives.
Jesus’ yoke is
easy. (For more on yokes and God’s will, click here.) A poorly made yoke will gouge an animal’s neck and make the work
excruciating. A life lived apart from God is a poorly made yoke. A legalistic,
religious life also places a heavy burden on us. But, a properly made yoke
makes the work much easier. Yes, there is work, but it’s meaningful work.
Do you question
whether God is pleased with you? Are you doing or not doing things to secure
God’s favor in your life? God’s favor is His grace – a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).
God is pleased with
you. Tell yourself that today.
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