you're invited

You've been invited. This invitation is not to a party but to a person. Jesus wants to open his heart to you, so he has said, "Come to me." This invitation is addressed to all who are weary and carry heavy burdens. This invitation is for you. Jesus wants you to come to him so he can give you the gift of rest. He knows that what you need is real rest--not just for your body, but also for your soul. And only Jesus can give you soul rest. He wants you to rest from trying to be good enough and from doing too much. He wants you to fully rest in his finished work on the cross, his provision of salvation. This is rest that begins now and continues into eternity. Jesus knows that if we don't rest in him, we'll sacrifice the important for the urgent, the personal for the public. If we don't rest in him, we'll end up empty on the inside, moving through life in a fog of meaningless religious ritual.

So how do you RSVP to Christ's invitation? He said, "Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you." At first this may sound like just another burden. But the yoke of Jesus is the burden that makes all other burdens bearable. This yoke is what connects us to Jesus so that he can share our load. He wants to bear the weight of your burdens with his strong shoulders.

So when you find yourself searching for something to soothe the pain in your life, will you listen for the voice of Jesus whispering his invitation into your ear, "Come to me"? When you feel your frustration building and your strength fading, hear Jesus saying, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens." When you find yourself weighed down by unrealistic expectations or unbearable emotions, Jesus says, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:30, NIV).

Jesus stands with his arms outstretched saying, Come away from what is insignificant and empty so you can enter into what is eternal, essential, restful. Come to me. Let me love you. Who could resist such an invitation?

Nancy Guthrie, The One Year Book of HOPE

I was really encouraged by this. It was too good not to share. I hope it is an encouragement to you today too. I long for this kind of rest, don't you? And Jesus is right there offering it to us. The burdens of life are wearisome. And so often I try to carry the load myself. Sometimes I don't even think I realize I am trying to do it on my own. But I do...all the time. This week I am reminded that I need to go to Jesus. He makes my burdens bearable. In Him is where I will find true rest.

Happy Sunday!