Will You Come To Me?

Then Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you.  Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”(Mt. 11:28-30)

The yoke is a frame or bar that can be placed on one or two people or animals pulling or carrying a heavy load.  Thus when we take His yoke upon us, we find our burdens so much easier to bear as we give them to Jesus so that He, along with each of us, shares the weight and responsibility of our burdens.

There are various reasons why people do not come to Jesus to help them with their burdens and trials.  Some are:  My life is a mess and I see no way out.  I am not worthy of being a member of Christ’s kingdom.  I cannot forgive myself for my awful sin.  Why would Jesus forgive me?  I am so filled with guilt and shame.  Others feel that by gritting their teeth and by sheer determination, things will improve.  Some just cannot see themselves giving up control of their life, even to Jesus.  Many feel that surrendering themselves to the care and control of anyone else is not an option.  So often, pride keeps us from being willing to submit our burdens to another. 

For many years, I lived a destructive and self-centered life.  I hurt the ones who loved me the most and felt so much guilt over the harm I had caused.  I did not see a way out of the pit of shame, self-pity, and misery I had dug myself into.  At a very low point in my life, God intervened and led me to a loving and caring group of friends who welcomed me into their bible study.  They assured me that although I had always seen myself as a “black sheep”, Jesus, the Good Shepherd spoken of in John 10, is in the business of rescuing the lost and bringing them into His sheepfold.  I love the description of this in Ezekiel 34:11&12:  “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:  I Myself will search and find My sheep.  I will be like a shepherd looking for His scattered flock.  I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.”

How about you?  What is keeping you from coming to Jesus?  The bottom line is that none of us is worthy of His forgiveness and of the gift of eternal life.  Romans 3:23 states “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. 

Ephesians 3:4,8 states:  “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves – it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.”

My life, after accepting this free gift, has been one glorious adventure.  Because I have (for the most part!) relinquished control of my life to Jesus Christ, I never know for sure what He will bring into my day, who I might meet, or to what purpose He might be calling me!  Have there been trials and challenges?  Absolutely!!!  But Jesus has never left my side.  He has not taken me out of the hardship but has walked me through it.  Jesus said in John 10:10 that “He has come that we may have life, and have it to the full”.  Who wouldn’t want to sign up for that?

I awake each morning and dedicate my day to Jesus, asking for His guidance and direction for every area of my life.  I know that as long as I submit my will to His and follow the leading of His Spirit, that all will be well.  A good day is not defined by everything falling place for me but by knowing that He is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6) and that true life can only be found in Him.  He will lead and I will follow.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”  (2 Cor. 5:17)  HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!

Blessings,

Christine