Rest for the Weary

Tree

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

This is the great invitation that has been offered by Jesus. He offers the invitation and makes the promise to those who will come: “You will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).

However, we must work in order to receive rest. We must take on His yoke. Just as a yoke is placed upon the oxen so they will do the work their master guides them to do, we must do the work Christ has given us to do. Work precedes rest. Therefore, we must see to it that we are working the “works of God” (John 6:28) so we do not miss out on the promised rest. The Hebrew writer warned, “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:11).

Jesus never promised a life of ease and comfort here and now. The promised rest comes after death (Revelation 14:13). We need to continue working as He would have us to and guard against becoming complacent. If we give up at the end and, instead of entering into His rest we “come short of it” (Hebrews 4:1), we will miss out just the same as those who never tried.

Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:11) and “let us not grow weary while doing good” (Galatians 6:9).


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