via TJC
Come to me all ye who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 NIV
The true meaning of this verse points directly to Jesus and his saving grace just as all the Bible does. However, even after salvation, we too often do not pursue that rest (peace). We continue in our self serving ways or give our time and effort to the wrong things.
Matthew was a tax collector, and it was known they were people who looked to help themselves to a little extra. We are asked, like Matthew, to follow Jesus. I follow Jesus, often as a spoiled child, and not in the sense of “childlike faith”. I go and do daily. When it seems my daily activities have gone too far, I become scared and ask God to bless them anyway; sometimes with little or no repentance. I find myself asking, “would you allow us to have (fill in the blank)?” A self soothing question, knowing I’ll allow myself to have while I claim I’ll use it for some great reason.
Many events and desires, and we haven’t used most of our resources to bless others. So, why is that happening? It isn’t a lack of desire. However, I must consider whether I’ve helped myself to a little extra using a lot of time searching for and acquiring resources that others may not want or need or find useful.
I find my kids are a great avenue for illustrations. I watched The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special with my son. Darth Vader buys a gift for the emperor – a “Galaxies Greatest Emperor” coffee mug. Vader says, “I got you a gift.” The emperor replies, “Ooooo, gimme, gimme, gimme!” then opens it and reads the mug with a confused look on his face, “Galaxies Greatest Emperor?” Then shouts, “I’m the galaxies ONLY Emperor!” and throws the mug over his shoulder into a black hole. Vader shouts, “Hey, I spent a lot of time searching for that!”.
Doesn’t that sum it up. We continue to give our time and efforts in search of the wrong things for the wrong reasons - even hoping it will be used or “blessed”. We work tirelessly and say, “gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!”, while wondering why we cannot place our hands on the rest Jesus talks about.
Daily Battle Order
Make a ‘Full Stop’ today and self examine. Ask yourself why you do what you do and what is that you seek.
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