“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, 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.”[1]
After some delightful
digging in the quarry of Matthew 11:25-30, I am now at the place of wondering
what to do with all the treasures I have gathered. If the call of Jesus is that
we come to him for soul-rest, what are the practical, experiential issues that
connect us to him and his gift? And, what does it look like to do this as the
church, bringing one another to Jesus in such ways that result in whole
churches of people experiencing unified rest for our souls?
First of all,
we are talking about “rest for your
souls,” so the practical issues surrounding this must be aimed at
soul-rest. This means we can exclude any practical issues that aim to fix
soul-needs with material solutions.[2]
While there are sometimes ways to change things that are causing unnecessary
stress and distress,[3]
there are far too many things in life we cannot fix in physical ways, that we
must avoid trying to address soul-weariness with material solutions.
In other
words, there are times we can help someone get out of an abusive relationship,
but too many times abuse happens in secret, while we are young, and while the
world around us doesn’t know what is going on. By the time we are ready to cry
out for help, too much damage has been done to our souls, and the solution to
what is wrong inside us cannot be to protect us from abuse (while we will
obviously keep trying to do this as often as the need arises). The ultimate
solution for those who “labor and are
heavy laden” must be to fix what abuse has done to our souls.
The same with
sin. Sin takes place in our souls. Sin is a conspiracy of heart, soul, and
mind, all agreeing to enter into some illicit experience that is both
independent of God, and contrary to his holiness and righteousness. Sin does
damage to the soul. It wearies us with its guilt, shame, and fear. It ruins us
to the core of our inner being. While we may be able to do certain practical
things to avoid temptation to sin, we cannot control the world around us that
is always ready to tempt and allure us away from our “sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”[4]
Therefore, the rest from sin has to be something that takes place in our
inner-selves.[5]
We must know Jesus in the reality of soul-rest. Salvation must impact our souls
with the feeling that we are now at rest with God in the righteousness of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Secondly, it
is Jesus who gives us rest, so we must look to him for the rest we need. We
cannot fabricate this rest ourselves, or create it with the proper environment.
We must come to Jesus to discover what he gives us for our rest. This would
include forgiveness of sins,[6]
and it would include healing for the brokenhearted and the binding up of our
wounds.[7] No
matter what we do personally, or in fellowship with others, it must match Jesus’
invitation to look to him for the soul-rest we need.
Thirdly, this
is an “I/you” relationship. There is
no intermediary between us and Jesus. Jesus has received all authority from the
Father to reveal all these things to his little children, so Jesus now comes
and personally offers this rest. While it is clear that we must factor in the
church’s involvement as the body of Christ, we must still identify this as a
relationship between Christ and his people. It should feel to us like we are
encountering Jesus in our souls.
Fourthly, the
three things that are required of the little children are that they come to Jesus,
they take his yoke upon them, and they learn from him. Again, no matter what
practical steps are included, people must feel like they are coming to Jesus in
answer to his call. They must know that they are uniting their lives to his in
the way a yoke would bind two animals together. And, they must enter into
relationship with him that feels like he is the Shepherd and they are the
sheep, that he is the Teacher and they are the students, that he is the Master
and they are the disciples.
Fifthly,
church life must feel like the body of Christ is now connecting people to Jesus
for the soul-rest he continually provides. It is very interesting the way this part
of the quarry parallels Jesus’ instructions to his disciples regarding the
church age. He told them,
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that
I have commanded you.”[8]
Coming to Jesus
looks like the church making us into disciples. Taking Jesus’ yoke upon us
includes submitting to baptism as our personal expression of coming under this
yoke of Jesus Christ. And, learning from Jesus includes the church teaching us
to put into practice all that Jesus has taught us. The greatest experience of
soul rest will take place in such fellowships as Jesus’ instructed.[9]
While this is
a small sampling of thoughts regarding how to bring the treasures of the quarry
into the personal life of the body of Christ, it has all been a helpful
reminder that there really is soul-rest in Jesus, and it has always been
intended as something to share. I have found that Jesus has ministered
soul-rest to me on numerous occasions when I have sought him alone in his word
and prayer. I am also thankful to be part of the body of Christ where God’s
little children learn together to “understand
and know” our Savior as the source of our soul-rest.[10]
For a long
time I have operated under the philosophy of ministry, “Bringing the
Soul-Condition of the people to the Soul-Provision of Christ through the
Soul-Care of the body of Christ.” This past week in the quarry has certainly
helped me grow in this way of life. I am thankful for the treasures of God's word.
© 2014 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Matthew 11:28-30
[2]
I want to make it very clear that I am not suggesting there are no practical,
material components to our experience of Christ and his people. I am only
focusing on the way that the actual rest to our souls comes from personal
encounter with Jesus himself, both personally, and in fellowship with his body,
the church. Any time we rely on some material thing to give us the rest and
relief we are looking for in our souls, we will miss out on what Jesus can do
for us even when no material or circumstantial changes can be made at all.
[3]
Isaiah 58:6-7 shows some ways God expected his people to respond to the
practical, earthly needs of others. Matthew 25:31-40 shows Jesus commending his
sheep for ways they did things for him when they took care of the physical
needs of “one of the least of these my
brothers.” And, James was clear that “Religion
that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world”
(James 1:27). All these things can be done while aiming ministry at bringing
those “who labor and are heavy laden”
to Jesus for soul-rest.
[4]
II Corinthians 11:3
[5]
Ephesians 3:16
[6]
Matthew 9:2; Acts 2:38
[7]
Psalm 147:3
[8]
Matthew 28:18-20
[9]
This does not discount the ways Jesus will minister to his children who are in
isolation, in prison, fleeing from terrorists, or even facing martyrdom. Jesus said
that we are not to fear those who can do harm to our bodies, or to our material
and physical well-being. We are to fear the one who has power over our souls
(Matthew 10:28). In the case of Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus clearly wants to exert
his power over souls by granting soul-rest to all the weary and burdened little
children who come to him.
[10]
Jeremiah 9:23-24
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