Come to Me All Who Are Weary

On this day, He still calls.  "Come to Me"
He knows our hearts become heavy
     with concerns,
              obligations,
                       disappointments,
                                      longings.
It is those very things He asks us to give to Him.
Michael Card says in his song, Come Lift Up Your Sorrows
"Come worship Him with your wounds, for He's wounded too."
We have a Great High Priest Who sympathizes with our sufferings and lives to intercede for us at the Throne of Grace.  He's in heaven having constant communion and conversation with the Father on our behalf.

C.S. Lewis wrote about our propensity to get this walking with Jesus thing all wrong.  Life in God often comes down to us asking "How much of myself do I give?"  We think, somewhere in the hidden recesses of our heart, that we will be able to fulfill the requirements of whatever goodness life asks of us -- be a good mom, be a good wife, be a good son, daughter, friend, worker, housekeeper, Christian ... the list can go on.  Then, hope against hope, we secretly hold in our hearts the desire that some scraps will be left for ourselves.  Once we do all the good works required in all our roles of life we will get our needs met and have something left to "spend" on ourselves.  Lewis compares us to the man who begrudgingly pays his taxes hoping he has enough left to do something for himself.

God's way is not this way.  Lewis reminds us, that "God's way is both harder and easier."

Christ says, "Give me all.  I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work:  I want YOU.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.  No half-measures are any good.  I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down.  Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked -- the whole outfit.  I will give you a new self instead.  In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours."  Both harder and easier than what we are all trying to do ... He says, "Take up your Cross" ... next minute He says, "My yoke is easy and my burden light."  He means both. {C.S. Lewis ~ Mere Christianity}

He wants you.  All of you -- including the parts you fear He may not want (because Who in their right mind would?).  Enter into this invitation to take this yoke, sidle up next to Jesus and learn from Him.  Cast your cares at His feet and find yourself unburdened and welcome.

His yoke is easy and His burden is light and you will find rest for your soul.  

 

Linking up with Still Saturday, The Weekend Brew and the Sunday Community.