“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.” Matthew 11:28-29 ESV
Reflection: do you have peace in your soul this Christmas?
Christmas for many is a joyous time, with festive parties, family gatherings, gift giving and, of course, lots of good food. But, then for some, it might be one of the most difficult, and perhaps loneliest of times of the year. It becomes a reminder of loved ones that are lost, of what was or could have been. Some are alone due to their age, an illness, even imprisonment. The Bible talks a lot about caring for those who are the weakest of society; often represented by “widows and the fatherless”. Those who don’t have a family or a voice in society. Isn’t it interesting that God cares so much about the weakest? He says He is the “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.” Psalm 68:5 ESV
Jesus talked about how eternal truths in God was revealed to the smallest, simplest in society. He says “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.” Matthew 11:25-26 ESV. And then He goes on sharing one of the deep truths, a secret of God, saying “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Did you notice that “rest for our souls”, or peace, is something we must find? And Jesus makes it pretty clear how to find it. He says to come to Him, to learn from Him, to do what He did. And what was that? He says here to be “gentle and lowly in heart”. Jesus was gentle, meek? Lowly in heart? Yeap. That is exactly what he says. The God of the universe; Creator of all. The one Isaiah wrote about called “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 ESV. He says, “I am gentle and lowly in heart”.
This doesn’t compute for us. It doesn’t make sense to be Almighty God, and yet meek, even humble. Yet, we see Him, the Savior who came into this world, by His own will. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”Philippians 2:5-8 ESV.
Do you feel the burden of struggles in life, especially strong this Christmas season?
Jesus tells us to “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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.” Matthew 11:28-29 ESV. The disciples, even Peter, struggled with their burdens put on them. And therefore Peter learned through experience what Jesus had instructed many years earlier, writing “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV.
