Reconciliation--An Interesting Doctrine

Some friends and I are working through Cloud and Townsend's book, How People Grow. This book written from a Biblical standpoint helps me understand the process of spiritual growth. As a new believer I was often frustrated because I thought when I got saved I was instantly going to be changed into the person God had created me to be, but it didn't happen. I still struggled with sin, with negative thoughts and emotions, and with maladaptive ways of dealing with hurtful memories and hurtful relationships. This caused me, a perfectionist, to struggle with a lack of assurance of my salvation. My imperfections, the ugly and hate-filled thoughts that sometimes passed through my head made the person I longed to be seem out of reach. We eventually landed in a great Bible teaching church and fellowshipped with loving, godly believers several times a week. These transparent people talked often about how to rightly handle the word of God and how to apply it to our lives. I grew in my relationship with God, my assurance of salvation, and in my relationships as I began to understand the process of sanctification. When we began working through the book, I was struck by how much the doctrine of reconciliation plays out in the gospel and in our growth as believers. I was also struck by the fact that through the gospel we are not only reconciled to God, but to others and to ourselves as well. 

To understand reconciliation, we need to remember God created us to be relational with Him and with each other. In the Garden Adam and Eve enjoyed a pure, unadulterated relationship with God and with each other--a relationship that was open, vulnerable, and without any shame. When they sinned, their relationship with God became fractured and they became alienated from God. Colossians tells us bluntly that we, too, became enemies of God as demonstrated by our thought life and by our evil behaviors. By their choices, Adam and Eve also fractured their relationship as was shown by their feelings of shame and the desire to cover their nakedness. As Cloud and Townsend put it, their  vulnerability and intimacy was replaced by alienation, unfairness, adversity, and a whole lot of dishonesty. We don't have to read very far into Genesis to see the truth of that. And in their attempt to become like God they became fractured people who were actually less of themselves. 

As believers, we know we are reconciled with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul in his letter to the Philippians tells us we are to work out our salvation. When I read the words "work out" I was so  relieved because I realized this thing called Christian growth isn't an instantaneous thing, it is a process that takes time and energy. It is what I call practical reconciliation with God, with ourselves, and with each other. 

Practical reconciliation with God occurs as we read His word and interact with Him over it. Sometimes it is reading narratives of how God and His Son related to people and looking for His interaction in our own lives. Sometimes it is meditating on passages of Scripture and asking Him questions about them and waiting for the Holy Spirit to teach us the deeper things we miss on our own. Sometimes it is praising Him for His attributes and for being a God who actively and passionately pursues broken people. Sometimes it means being radically honest with Him when we are struggling to trust Him or when we are struggling with issues of sin and find ourselves wanting to hide from Him or cast blame on others as Adam and Eve did. It is being radically honest about the feelings we experience, both positive and negative, and reframing our circumstances and suffering through the lens of His truth and His loving, compassion. 

Reconciliation with others begins to occur when we are in a right relationship with God. It living out the "one another" verses contained in the Scripture--love one another, live in harmony with one another, do not judge one another, forgive one another, instruct one another, greet one another, do not deprive one another, submit to one another, and comfort one another. And, these one another's are just the beginning, there are many others contained in the Word. Practical reconciliation can also mean choosing to stay present and involved when relationships becomes difficult. It can mean separating from some people, leaving the possibility for relationship open once sin and hurtful behaviors are acknowledged and changed. Practical reconciliation lived out well is important, because iron sharpens iron and if we hide and run from the hard of relationships we won't grow. It is also important because the world is watching the church and if we can't love one another and work through the hard, why would they want what we have? 

Reconciliation with ourselves is a new idea to me. The Scriptures instructs us to love God and to love others as we love ourselves. Over the years I have heard pastors say we all love ourselves and I remember thinking, "If I loved my children the way I love myself, I would be sitting in a jail cell right now." I have come to believe our ability to love ourselves was as fractured by the Fall as our ability to love God and others was. For me, practical reconciliation with myself included things like learning about my identity in Christ and replacing my identity as a victim of trauma with that. It included learning about the depth of God's love and trusting it even in the face of the hard, the aftermath of sin and shame, and the midst of prayers that seemed to be unanswered. It included spending time with Christian therapists who did not judge me, but gave me a safe place to share the shameful parts of my story, my life, and myself. It also meant learning how trauma had impacted my views, thoughts, choices, reactions, and actions so I could choose to move out of victimhood, learn to love my enemies, and refuse to let Satan use my suffering to keep me from experiencing God and His joy. It meant leaning in to the very things Satan had used to try to destroy me so God could display His glory and healing power in my life. That was what helped God's love become a driving force in my life instead of past trauma. The doctrine of reconciliation is an interesting doctrine as it helps us understand more about God's infinite love and grace.           

And at the End of the Day

In one of the last chapters of Max Lucado's book, He Chose the Nails, Max speaks about the end of the day that Jesus was crucified. He talks about Him crying out, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?" And then saying, "It is finished." Max also says He thirsted and some found compassion for Him at this point and offered a sponge filled with sour wine, while others were still mocking. And Jesus, He laid down His life. 

At the end of the day they took down the bodies of the three crucified, and they buried them, and one by one they went home. I wonder if the people in the crowd had the same tendency I do as an introvert to think back on how their day was spent. What did they think of Jesus’ trials? What did they think of the mocking that took place? What did they think as they recalled the darkness that came as Christ was hanging on the cross? What did they think of the words He cried out? What did they think of the events that occurred as Jesus gave up His life--the temple curtain being ripped in two, the shaking of the earth, the splitting of rocks, the tombs being opened? When people laid their heads on pillows that night, what were the thoughts they thought and the feelings they felt? 

I am sure there were many who knew and loved Jesus who were struggling with deep grief, confusion, and despair who were playing back the tapes of the conversations they had with Him, I am sure that there were some who faced guilt and shame that ran deep because they deserted Him and denied Him. Maybe some even questioned God's plan at that point and maybe a few were holding on to a thread of hope because He had lovingly washed their feet, told them things, and supernatural things happened as He died, indicating God was still at work. Maybe they were even wondering what the meaning of the torn curtain and the graves opening when the ground shook. 

What about those religious leaders who had clamored for Him to be crucified? What about those who had mocked Him as He was being disrobed, having bits of hair plucked from His beard, bearing the spittle of others, and the crown of thorns thrust on His head, the painful death He died, the anguish of sin He bore as He faced God's wrath for us. They were people just like you and me. Did they go home at the end of that day filled with self-righteous pride, still believing they were right? I know I have done that at times, to realize later I was wrong as wrong could be and my pride never made it right. In pride I have attacked the beliefs of others thinking I was right...and sometimes I was, but often I wasn't. The thing that hurts my heart to this day is the lack of love I displayed when I chose to attack instead of exploring the truth, the times I misconstrued others' words without clarifying, and when I cared more about winning an argument than I cared about a heart.  

What about the ones following the religious leaders? Did they, or at least did some of them, have second thoughts as they laid down to sleep and the silence of the night gave way to shouting thoughts? Did they think about the words He spoke from the cross, about the curtain of the temple being torn, or about the earth shaking as He gave up His life? Did they begin to wonder if they had been too easily swayed by the shouting crowd? I look back at times and realize I was. In college there were all sorts of movements and I didn't always do research. I just shouted what I thought to be the truth, only to find out I was wrong. I remember being swayed by others' misguided passion, only later to be ashamed I had fallen for false information. And, to be honest, this election year we all experienced that over and over again and still do. Did some of the followers realize, like I did, that they bought into the lies and the passion of those who denied Jesus? Did they think back onto sermons He spoke and realize those behind the movement to crucify Him took His words out of context? Did they realize the religious leaders with whom they had aligned themselves often misquoted, misconstrued, and misrepresented Him to protect their position in the community? Did any of them say as the centurion did, "Surely this is the Son of God?"

At the end of the day, what did the people think of the anger they had spent and had spewed as they joined in the cries of those clamoring for Him to be crucified, and the sarcastic mocking that took place both before, and as He was hanging suspended between heaven and earth? Did they feel their anger was justified? Or did at least some of them feel the same shame and the same sickness in the pit of their gut that I have felt when I have laid down at night realizing the angry words I spewed at my children weren't appropriate loving correction, but hurtful, abusive words of a bully. Did they feel the same feelings I felt at the end of the day when a disagreement with my spouse turned ugly and I shouted hateful words I can never fully retract? Did some of them feel the shame that I have felt when I have participated in gossip as either a hearer or a spreader that resulted in character assassination of someone? Did some of them feel that same sick feeling as they rehearsed the memories of their day--the words they spoke, the actions they carried out, the verbal expressions of the Lord from the cross, especially the one that asked the Father to forgive them? Did they lie down and wonder if maybe, just maybe they had blown it big? Did they wonder, like I have at times, "Is there really any way this can be forgiven?" 

I hope that some of those people, at the end of that day, who laid down with a sick feeling growing in their gut were able to own their actions and reactions that day. I hope they got to hear and respond to the gospel because, like Paul, they physically in real time and in real space lived out the words penned in Romans, "...in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

As I think about the end of that day, I think that those who did experience the pain of conviction and the realization that they were as wrong as wrong can be, were the ones who had the opportunity to hear the gospel and experience grace that ran deeper than anyone dreamed it could run. Because that grace allowed them to experience the pure love we experience even at the end of the day. 

Sharing Who We Know

"But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto Him."

1 Corinthians 2:14

One of the most exciting nights I experienced as a volunteer youth worker was when I turned to a new girl in our youth group and asked her if she knew Christ as her Savior. She said she didn't know Him, but really wanted to. I shared the gospel with her and she accepted Christ and we both cried tears of joy. Having someone that ready to receive the Lord is unusual. The verse above tells us why that is true. People without Christ don't have the capacity to understand the things of God. This is because it is the Holy Spirit that enables us to understand the things of God. Without the Spirit's presence in our lives, the things of God can seem foolish. That means a person who doesn't know Christ often doesn't even know he needs Him. That seems like an odd statement, but let me give you an example. We did not give our children very many sweets when they were little. However, one of their grandmothers brought ice cream for them. She even gave our 8-month-old daughter strawberry ice cream. At first she shook her head and pulled back from the spoon because it was cold and she wasn't use to it. She sat there for a moment and licked her lips and tasted the ice cream for the first time. All of a sudden, her face lit up and she desperately wanted more ice cream. That's the way it is with God. We are called to share His gospel with people who in all probability aren’t even asking for Him and don’t understand what they’re missing. Hopefully, when we build relationships others will get a glimpses of Him through us and begin to desire a relationship with the God we love and serve.  

I wonder sometimes why we don't witness more. It could be that we are too busy, we are simply disobedient, or we are uncaring in regard to the plight of people who don't know Jesus. There could be another reason, which is what I want to focus on now. One is that in our own life we haven’t moved past the initial relationship that began when we accepted Christ. Like every love relationship, our relationship with Christ must be nurtured and developed. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says that when we come to understand Christ’s love it will compel us to share the gospel. (2 Corinthians 5:14). Do we comprehend His love? Does it compel us to share the gospel?

I was recently writing a letter to someone who doesn't know Christ personally and the perceptions the person has about God are very far from the truth. As I was writing, I was overwhelmed with a passion that they come to know the God I know from the scripture. I want to share some a part of that letter with you: 

"I wish you could know the God I have come to know. His holiness is terrifying and yet beautiful. His love is overwhelming and incomprehensible. His compassion and kindness always present and inviting me into deeper relationship. His comfort and peace indescribable no matter what the circumstances are. His mercy and grace are free even in the reality of my sin. I wish you could know what it feels like to have the burden of guilt taken away for good. I wish you could know what it feels like for peace to flood your heart, where there has been only anxiousness and terror. I wish you could hear His voice whisper love into your heart as He has mine. Most of all I wish you could know what His redemption means. He redeems my mistakes and the time I wasted running and trying to fill my needs apart from Him. He freed me from the guilt I felt. I wish you could have your heart healed like He is healing mine – the holes and the rips are being delicately mended and the ache is lessening and the emptiness is being filled. The process of growth is bittersweet because the more I have come to know Him the more I have realized that I need Him. Knowing God wakes up emotions of love and joy and brokenness that are deeper than any I have felt before, but it feels so good to be alive. As I grow in Christ the things of this world and the sins with which I have struggled are losing their power and their grip on my heart and I am finding myself in the grip of God's grace. There is such sweet peace and such exploding joy in His grip! I want that for you"

I encourage you to stop and write down who God is and what He has done for you. Next, think of someone you would like to come to know Christ. Maybe it is someone you know who is hurting or someone who is struggling with sin. Maybe it is someone you know who seems empty and lonely. What would you want to tell him or her about God if you knew it was your last chance to share about Him? Or maybe in reading this you have realized you don’t feel compelled to share Him because you haven't experienced His love at a personal level and His love seems like it is only something you have been reading about. If that is the case, read His word, meditate on it, and ask Him to open your eyes to the work and love He is showing you. He is always present and always loving, but sometimes we are so focused on the world we don't realize He is continuously revealing Himself to us and He is constantly inviting us into a deeper relationship. Are we listening? Do you long for others to know the God who loves you so radically?

Prayer: Father, you are so gracious. When we were your enemies You sent your Son to reveal your heart of love to us. Help us to never lose sight of your holiness and goodness. Most of all help us to experience Your all consuming perfect love and be constrained by it to share our faith with others. Amen.

The Boxes I No Longer Own

"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous 

for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."

1 Peter 3:18

I've heard many sermons on 1 Peter 3:18. But I don’t think I have ever the time to contemplate all that the verse says. I understand at a cognitive level that Jesus died so I could be reconciled to God. The part I don’t fully grasp is the middle of the verse: “the righteous for the unrighteous." To begin to grasp the fullness of the verse I have had to wrestle with the concepts of righteousness and unrighteousness. In light of those concepts I begin to grasp the huge amount of grace contained in that little phrase. 

Scripture makes it clear that Christ is righteous. It blows my mind that righteousness is one of God’s character traits. That means He didn't just act righteous, He was righteous in every thought, word, attitude, and deed. He did the right thing every time at exactly the right moment. Every word He spoke was spoken at the right moment in the right way to rightly, unselfishly meet a need. His silences were also purposeful and governed by His righteousness, not passive aggressive as we so often are. He never lied or spoke words with a motive of wounding someone. When He confronted sin it was never done out of hurt or pride, but was done with the pure motive of reconciliation. If He healed someone it was right and if He didn't it was right. When He judged, His judgments were right. His commandments were right then and are right today. When Christ walked this earth, He never made a wrong decision, never had a bad attitude, never made a bad choice, never had regrets, and was never too late to do His Father's will. Unlike me, He never went to bed sorry for how He had treated someone nor did he regret nor reaching out to someone. 

To more fully grasp the truth of His righteousness, all I have to do is think of all of the sins I've committed over my lifetime. A pastor I served under suggested we journal our prayers. One of my young friends mentioned how much more serious her sin looked when she confessed it by name and wrote it down on paper. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He has made Him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." It is like being able to put all of our sin in boxes and being able to carry them to the cross where Jesus is hanging and placing them at His feet so God cam place them on Him. I can’t imagine how many boxes I would have! I am pretty sure those boxes would full. I am sure more than one box would be full of words I wish I could retract--words that were lies, hateful, spoken in haste, gossip, slander, disrespectful, and chosen purposefully to wound. Some of my boxes would be full of compromises that eat at my soul, because I can’t believe I gave in and compromised on issues so clearly spelled out in His Word so I would be accepted by those offended by my faith. Some of my boxes would have been filled with sins caused by all sorts of lust. Some would have been filled with self-destructive sins like binges, starving, or abusing my body with compulsive exercise. Some boxes would be filled with harsh judgments of others and some would be filled with harsh judgments of self. I would have some boxes full of toxic pride, angry outbursts, hatred, bitterness, and of self-centered selfish choices. I am sure there would also be lots of boxes filled with sins of omission. This would contain things like the withholding of love, kind words, compassion, forgiveness, and even Christ.

My purpose in writing this is not to take back shame for which I have been set free nor to trigger toxic shame in you. I understand that because Adam and Eve were our first parental types we have been born with the propensity to fill up boxes with sin--that is what it is to be a child who is a descendant of Adam and Eve. The truth of grace is that Christ took our sin and gave us His righteousness. I am writing this to help myself see just how much He loves me and to make sure that I know that as the Righteous One, He was truly qualified to bear weight of my sin and shame--He had none of His own to bear. When I was a child I was terrified of God. I was afraid not to come to Him because I feared that all of my sin would be displayed on a movie screen for all to see! However, the truth is He already became sin for me! Every sin in every box was put on Him. He bore my sin and shame so I can let go of it. He gave me His righteousness. I am free of accusation. When I'm face to face with Christ, there will be no big screen TV displaying my sin. Nor will I be given some kind of banner to wear that has my sin printed on it. Christ already bore it publicly for me. When we get to heaven we will be there on His merit and because of the sacrifice He paid on the cross. That means I have been given His truth for the lies I once spoke, love for the hatred that once dwelled in my heart, kindness for the unkind things I did, purity for my lust, self-control for my addictions, patience for my impatience, compassion for my bitterness, and passion for my complacency. Christ died so I might become the righteousness of God in HIM! 

What a precious gift God has give believers--righteousness for unrighteousness. I don't need to hang my head in shame; I can now live as a beloved child who has the opportunity to become like my heavenly Father. It hurts to think of Christ bearing my sin so publicly! The way for me to deal with my current sin is to face it, call it by its rightful name, and confess it to Jesus. When I began to look inside and asked God to search my heart, I realized that He wasn't surprised by the number of boxes. He knew that they were there. Yet, He was compassionate, gracious, and kind, taking each one from me. 

I wonder how many of us are still carrying those sin boxes around with us. Maybe we have been to ashamed to confess the sin to Him. Yet, He already knew when He went to the cross for us. Maybe it is because we think we haven't paid a high enough price to make up contents of our boxes. Yet, He paid for all of our sin, with His own blood. Because He loved He gave us the gift of grace--the act of exchanging His righteousness for our unrighteousness. The boxes He bought with His own blood are the boxes I no longer own!

Endurance

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 

No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—

he wants to please his commanding officer.

Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive 

the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.

The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops."

2 Timothy 2:3-6

Have you ever wondered what you would tell your family or friends about Christ if you knew you were never going to see them again? That is what the book of 2 Timothy is about. It is Paul’s letter of encouragement and exhortation to Timothy to live fully for the Lord. I remember having the same urgency in wanting to express all I knew about Christ to my children as they were leaving home. Desperately wanting them not only to know and understand how much the Lord loves them, but also wanting them to know how to honor God with their lives. In this passage Paul gives Timothy three examples to follow.

The first example he gives Timothy is that of a soldier. He told him that a good soldier is willing to endure hardship and will stand firm in the face of opposition, hatred and discomfort. These were all things that both Paul and Jesus had endured. He also reminded him to keep his focus and not let everyday things draw his mind away from the things God called him to. We often think the stage in life we are in is what is making it difficult to focus on God, but the truth is every stage of life has its distractions. Students are distracted by school, young men by their careers, couples by wedding plans, moms of preschoolers by the never-ending demands of young children, moms of school aged children by everyone’s busy schedule, middle aged parents are distracted by the burden of college expenses, and then there are the grandchildren. In each stage of life we have to choose to let Christ to be our focus for all we do. Lastly, a good soldier chooses to live so that he pleases his commanding officer. Every decision we make needs to honor God.

Paul also suggests that we follow the example of athletes. We know an athlete trains and prepares for the race. A part of the preparation is learning the rules and boundaries of the race. If an athlete doesn't follow the rules completely, he can't win. That means as Christians we need to live consistently and always ready to give an answer for the hope in us. We also need to realize everything is sacred for us and that means it is important to our relationship with the Lord that we maintain integrity at all times -- even when nobody is looking. Our culture is a culture of relative values and we need to remember partial obedience isn’t obedience and sin is sin even when everyone is doing it.

Most of us, as Christians, love to talk about the gospel with other believers. However, we are usually unprepared and sometimes not even aware of the opportunities we have to share Christ or to at least cultivate "the soil" for future sharing by loving and building relationships with unbelievers. If we want to partake of the joy of sharing Christ, we need to live as farmers do – fully focused on the job of preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering and feeding the plants, and plucking the harvest. That means we would be constantly busy loving and building relationships as we allow others to observe our lives. It means we are busy sharing the Scriptures, our testimonies, and opening discussions about God. Lastly, it means we are discerning and ready to "reap the harvest" by inviting others to make a decision about Christ.

Again, we have to accept that the Christian life is not a life of ease, but a life of discipline and of intentionality. Sharing Christ sometimes includes enduring hardship while remaining focused on the Lord and choosing to live a life pleasing to Him. We are called to constantly be in the process of sharing the gospel. The questions are: Are we really will to live obediently? Are we focused and diligently working to build relationships so we can share Christ? Last, what are we willing to endure so that others may gain freedom from sin, death and hell? Are we willing to endure a dirty look, physical discomfort, loneliness, hardship, pain, or even death? We need to mature to the place that we’re willing to endure what Christ endured for us? I hope that we never forget to that Jesus for enduring the cross and the shame of our sin for us. I hope we never take it for granted. When we find ourselves tempted to do that it would be wise for us to begin to name each of our individual sins – the sins we commit with our actions, thoughts, and our words as well as the sins we commit due to our inaction, lack of loving words, or neglect to think on Godly things. He desires to help us develop endurance in us, will we yield to His work?

Prayer: Father, Christ was such a wonderful example of the life that you want each of us to live. He was focused, full of integrity, obedient, and willing to endure hardship so that You might be glorified and honored and so that we might be saved. Help us to follow His example. Help us to live lives that are pleasing to you, obedient and constantly busy doing your will. Help us stand firm and strong and to endure until you call us home. Amen.

An Invitation To Rest

"Come to Me, all you who weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus spoke these words after He had been teaching and performing miracles in cities that didn't repent and didn't receive Him. He had denounced those cities and turned to the crowd following Him and invited them to come to Him. This was a new message that the crowd was hearing. It was the first time they were not given more laws and traditions to obey. They were simply invited to follow Him and to rest. How foreign this message must have been for those who had been bound by the laws and the traditions of the Pharisees. When Christ invited them to come to Himself, it was an invitation to come to a person, not an ideology, not a philosophy, and not an ever growing set of rules. It was an invitation to enter into a deeply intimate relationship with Him. 

The Jews who labored hard to keep the law must have been touched by His invitation. At the same time, the invitation had to seem strange because they greatly feared God and didn't view God as personal or approachable. I can so relate to that because, as a child, I had a distorted view of God. I knew He loved me and died for me, but I also pictured Him as distant and angry. I believed He was waiting for me to mess up so He could zap me. I didn't know what the zap would be, but I was terrified of it. While fear was a strong deterrent from sin, it kept me burdened down with the weight of trying to earn God's love and approval. It kept me from resting in His love and enjoying the opportunities I had to worship Him. 

Notice the word picture of the "yoke" used in the verse. A yoke is a molded piece of wood attached to two animals so they work together and go in the same direction. We are on one side of the yoke and Christ is on the other and we are going through this life yoked with Him. He is bearing the brunt of the weight of life as He is leading us in the right path. Just as a yoke was custom made to fit each particular animal, our yoke with Christ meets our specific needs and helps us to do the work we have been specifically called to do.

The verses also tell us Christ was "gentle and humble in heart." The Jews did not see Him that way, yet the gospels show those characteristics consistently. He left heaven and lay in a bed made of a feeding trough. He grew up the stepson of a Carpenter. He ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, and disabled people. He spoke with love and respect to people bound by sin. He intermingled with the despised Samaritans. He touched people who were sick with leprosy, blind both physically and spiritually, and those paralyzed and deprived of hope. He approached those bound by demons who were extremely different. Yet, His people rejected Him and He died the death of a criminal to demonstrate God's love to a broken, fallen world. When I am accused of something I've not done, my pride rises up and I'm ready to fight. Yet, He took our sin and died in our place on the cross to give us eternal and abundant life.

I love His invitation to learn from Him. We can follow His example to learn to love with a love that requires humility and grace. Humility brought us to the Lord. We came empty handed, depending only on His mercy and grace. One way to tell if we are walking in humility is to examine our attitudes. Do we look down on those who don't have money, use vulgar language, are disabled, or who have chosen a sinful path? Could we dine with various people and not worry about what friends might say? Hopefully, we can see past someone’s dress, language, race, sin or disabilities and see people who God created and deeply loves. During His life, Christ loved broken, selfish people like us. He wants us to do the same. Are we available and humble enough to allow Him to love through us? 

I love His promise of rest. We can be free from our sin to focus on God. We can be free from legalism to walk in His love. We can be free from people pleasing tendencies, relying on His love to empower us to love others.. We can be free from bitterness, experiencing peace that comes with extending grace and forgiving. We can be free from anxiousness, finding God's perfect peace. We can be free from discouragement, having hope. We can be free from hurt, experiencing healing. We can be free from fear and have Christ's boldness. We can be free from the weariness of self as we are transformed into Christ's likeness. We can be free of trying to earn acceptance and enjoy the acceptance that we already possess. We can be free from a lack of purpose and fulfill our God-given one. We can be free from trying to earn God's love and enjoy the love already poured lavishly upon us. The verb "take" implies something has been offered and that we must receive it. Christ has offered His teaching. It was not like the teaching of the Pharisees who added burden to burdens and guilt to guilt…it gives relief. It gives hope. It cleanses us. Our burdens become lighter as His love fills us and we live the life He created us to live.

Prayer: Father thank you for inviting us to come to You and for taking our burdens and our vain toil. Thank you for teaching us. You are gentle and humble…you washed feet, rubbed shoulders with the poor, touched lepers, restored sight to the blind, and taught the masses who were so hungry to learn. Thank you for your peace. We so need it in the face of storms. Thank your light and your truth, we need it desperately in this dark world. Thank you for loving us with an eternal pure love. It is so refreshing in a world that often hates. AMEN.