In offering rest, Jesus invites us to take up his yoke, and to learn from him – because there’s something about his gentle nature, his humility of heart, that provides rest for the soul. Jesus didn’t need to strive for greatness, or to prove it to others, so neither should we.
Like sunshine and rain, God’s grace is free. It encompasses everyone, and we can’t do anything to get one bit more or less. And like sunshine and rain, it falls from the heavens down to earth, from God to man.
And yet, somehow, not everyone enjoys this amazing grace.
A centurion and a Canaanite woman were commended by Jesus as people who had great faith. These people were not Israelites – and Jesus was ‘sent only to the lost sheep of Israel’ (Mt 15:24, NIV) – yet they were able to obtain a measure of God’s favour. We, on the other hand, have so much more.
From the beginning, God has wanted his creation to prosper – to be fruitful and to multiply. And while there may be seasons of fruitfulness, prosperity ultimately does not need an appointed time. Or circumstance.
It’s easy to condemn our hearts as bad, given all the evidence stacked against it – all the sins we commit even after becoming Christians, and despite our best intentions. The apostle Paul could probably have related to this.
The heart. It must be the most talked about, analysed and romanticised part of us, and for good reason. After all, the two most important things we’ll ever do in life require our heart: we need it to find God, and we need it to love God.
Thanks for visiting! Hope you enjoy your time here. Please have a look around, read some stuff, and maybe write some stuff in return. And if you like what you see, you can even become a Facebook fan.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
0 Comments