I WILL GIVE YOU REST

Prasad flies in and out of a Kerala city just for burglary!  That does not mean he is not religious!  He always prayed in the local temple before starting his burglary!  He believes in a god who will assist him to steal the hard-earned treasures of other people.  Prasad does not have any qualms about stealing because he trusts in the material riches more than a benevolent god.  Unfortunately, such kind of faith is not too rare.  But genuine faith is far from it.

Once, John, a reformed alcoholic expressed his willingness to help other addicts.  Therefore, I referred him to someone who had a terrible drinking problem.  John, after studying the case, told me that the client is not broken enough to be helped.  The alcoholic will have to hit rock bottom before he admits that things are beyond his control.  That’s when he could be helped.  Brokenness in life makes it easy to realise the futility of relying on wealth and riches. It also helps to realise how gracious God is.  Someone who is totally broken would be totally dependent on God like a child clinging to mum.  Clinging to Jesus like a child with total trust is the kind of faith we need.

With childlike submission to Jesus, the Word of God will not be a burden for you, but a delightful experience.  Like a child cherishing the words coming out of its mum’s mouth, he would find joy in the words of Jesus.  Yoke in the Bible is a metaphor for the Law of Moses or the religious precepts.  The Mosaic Law taught what the People of God should not be doing.  They were restrictive. But Jesus’ teachings were liberating.  The Lord taught how to employ the Love of God and neighbour to greater satisfaction in life.  Loving God and neighbour is not a burden, but joyful and peaceful. Real faith is personal like a Father–Son relationship; where there is total trust, and the disciplines are not burdensome.  Having entered in such a personal relationship with God, Jesus will give us ‘rest’.  It is a ‘rest’ like the rest of God in the book of Genesis.  God who created the world.  After each day’s creation God found them good.  At the end of all creation God rested on the seventh day with a sense of accomplishment.  Similarly, if you trust Jesus and depend on him to recreate your life from whatever brokenness you may have, you will be able to rest with a sense of joy and accomplishment. Let this good news be the guide for your life.