March 26, 2020 (Thursday)
(Matthew 11:28-30 King James Version (KJV)
The Scriptures quoted above lend themselves to much exposition. This is the third blog about this text. This is an invitation from Jesus, and the response is a hymn, “Jesus I Come.” Yesterday’s blog emphasized “the yoke of Jesus,” which means His teachings. Today let us focus on Jesus’ words, “I am meek and lowly.” A better translation would be gentle and humble.
Jesus shows us the difference between His teaching and that of the Rabbis in the result of that teaching. If you decide to follow Jesus, “you will find rest for your souls.” because Jesus the teacher is gentle and humble. He does not force His teachings upon the minds and hearts of others. He shows us a better way and it is up to us to accept or reject it.
In fact, Jesus’ invitation here is not exactly an appeal to follow His teachings as much as it is an invitation to follow Him personally. He says, “Take my yoke and learn of me. Of course we want to follow His teachings, but our relationship with Him is personal. It is Jesus Himself to whom we are committed.
Being a Christian and living the Christian life is not so much a commitment to the precepts modeled by Jesus, as it is a personal relationship with the Son of God, the Savior of the world!
This concept transcends all the religions of the world and takes us into new spiritual territory. We are invited to follow the example of the Apostle Paul, when he said, “To me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). Jesus met Paul personally on the road to Damascus and He meets us personally also. We may not have a “Damascus Road” experience, but we have an experience if we have accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord. We realized that we are sinners, that God loves us, that Christ died and rose again for us, and we crossed a line from “lost” to “saved” when we accepted Christ. That is a personal experience. I love the words of a song, “I was there when it happened, and I ought to know.”
Being a Christian is primarily an experience, not an accumulation of knowledge. We shall never plumb the depths of what being a child of God by grace through faith means. That relationship is the most wonderful in the world.
We are saved by grace and we continue to live by grace. The hymn below reminds us our total relationship with the Lord is by His grace.
Lyrics: Annie Johnson Flint (1925?) Music: Hubert Mitchell (1941) He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added afflictions He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, Fear not that thy need shall exceed His provision, His love has no limits, His grace has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again. |