“Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."Matt:11:28
All of us, can from time to time find our selves heavy laden with great burdens in this life. At times these burdens can be overwhelming, especially when we have bore them for so great a time.
At times, those things, which we carry with us thru this life , find their severity not in their magnitude but in their duration. We can be come wearied and tired made worn out from years of bearing our burdens.
We can look at the troubled world around us, which stands on the brink of chaos. There is threat of war, natural disasters, terrorism, economic uncertainty, social and moral deterioration , family breakdown and more.
All these things can fill us with a sense of personal and collective anxiety.
Jesus Calls Us
If we are being overwhelmed by the cares and burdens of this life, individually or collectively , then Jesus calls out to us each and all to come to him burdens and all , whatever they may be.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matt:11:28
This is rest that we can all have thru Jesus. It is a rest that rises above circumstances or conditions. A rest that defies the understanding of the natural mind of humanity.It is rest even in the midst of the pressures of this life
I Will Give
This rest, that Jesus invites us to is a certainty not a possibility, nor is it a theoretical rest but a true and freely given rest which we receive only thru Jesus himself. It is is not something that we can or our own selves create or generate on our own.
This rest is given unconditionally, Jesus tells us simply "I will give you rest". This means that we do not earn it, nor do we, thru any work of our selves , merit it ; Jesus simply give it to us when we accept his invitation to receive it. It is already ours' in Jesus , the only thing which can prevent us from experiencing this rest is our own unwillingness to receive it.
Did Not Rest
The Holy Spirit inspired the human author of the Epistle to the Hebrew Jewish Christians to address the idea of entering into the true rest that is found only in and thru Jesus alone.
These Hebrew Jewish Christians had been raised under the Old Covenant with all it's ceremonies and ordinances and law. They had been taught all their lives that Israel is God's Elect People thru an act of Grace on God's part , but they had come to believe that in order to maintain this status as God's Elect People they had to keep the Law and all the varies ceremonies and regulations , attempting to maintain this Elect status Israel could never be at rest.
The author of the Hebrews Epistle, in the fourth chapter ,verses (1-12) , referrers these First Century Jewish Christians , and we all, back to the history of the people of Israel ,who were being led by Joshuah , and how Israel failed to truly enter their national rest in the Promised land of Canaan, due to Israel's unbelief and to refusing to accept and hold as sacred the word of God.
Israel entered the land of Canaan but never the true rest that God had been speaking of , and promising even from the very beginning, the rest that even the Sabbath day had only been a type.
Thru Jesus
As a result the Hebrews author states that Israel had never truly entered in to and experienced the rest that God had always intended, this rest which God offers Israel, and all humanity , is more than a
prosperous and well favored geographical location or a a given day.
This rest is now available thru Jesus, so that those who have come to believe in Jesus can experience this true rest which God had always wanted for Israel and all humanity.
Hebrews then turns our attention to the Priesthood of our Lord Christ, this is not just a transition to a new theme in the Epistle , but rather is a continuation of the rest theme and the true source and reason we all can be at rest.
What we are be told in these verses, is that , due to our Lord's place in the Heavens at the very throne of God as our High Priest on our behalf , a High Priest who personally understands the problems that we all face in this life and who is seeking our continual deliverance and providing each and all of us with intercession is the reason we can be at rest.
Jesus understand our humanity, he is fully one of us even as he is fully God. Jesus knows from his own first hand experiences what the human life is like, he knows the weariness, cares and burdens that we all bare in this life, therefore, Jesus can have both empathy and sympathy for us. We can know that he understands each and all of us.
Cast Your Concerns
Jesus invites us to come to him when the pressures and burdens of this life begin to take their toll upon us and we are weighed down and over whelmed by our circumstances. Jesus calls out to us when we stumble and fall , when our concerns are looming large and seem unbearable.
St. Peter , with Psalm:55:22 in mind , writing his first general Epistle to Christians two thousand years ago and to Christians thru out the ages, counsels each and all of us to give over our cares and burdens to our Lord Jesus.
"Casting all your cares upon him; for he cares for you" 1Petr:5:7
St. Peter tells us to "cast all your cares" , the word "cast" means to jettison them from us, to thrust them far away, to quickly to relinquish ownership of them into the hands of Jesus. Why can we do this? Because "he (Jesus) cares for you". This means more than we might believe. It means that Jesus "cares for you" ,that is , Jesus has a bound of love for and towards each and all of us. Jesus care about and for us, and also that Jesus manages the problems on our behalf therefore we should "cast" , that is , relinquish control of our cares over to our Lord. Jesus will not fail us what ever we face in this life.
Self Reliant
Come Unto Me
When we face, as we all will, find ourselves weighed down in this life we can heed the invitation which Jesus freely offers all of us, to come to Jesus and bring our needs and our cares to him.
Jesus so freely offers to take up part and and to assume of our burden what ever it might be. Jesus is there for each and all of us calling us to himself offering us his divine assistance and providing ,thru his grace alone , that rest which we all were intended to experience
“Come unto 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.” Matt:11:28-30
Jesus calls out to any and all who will but freely receive it to "come unto" him, to "cast our cares" and burdens upon him knowing that Jesus is there in the Heavens as our High Priest to help us with any and all our cares and burdens that weary us in this life.
If we have cares and burdens and are weary, than let us hear and heed Jesus' gracious invitation so freely extend to each and all of us and Jesus will give us rest.
The Fountain of life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike
Washington, Pa. 15301 www.gcfountainoflife.org
The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
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