"Come to Me (Jesus says), all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." -Matthew 12:28
In our lives we all labor in so many different ways - most of us physically, and certainly all of us mentally. As a teenager, I labored my summers away on construction sites. I remember the sweat on my brow and an ache in my shoulders under the heat of the sun. With each passing minute, I longed for the coolness of shade and a tall, ice-cold tea...to lean against a tree and close my eyes while the summer breeze calmed my muscles. As an adult when the stresses come, and they always come, I often long for that same shade tree...to lean against its trunk with a tall, cold ice tea that could somehow wash away the stress of my day.
We all have a perfect, stress-free mental picture in our mind. What is yours? Are you sitting on a beach? Lounging in a boat? Relaxing in the cool breeze of the mountains? Camping beside a quiet stream? Getting room service in a luxury hotel as you scan the perfect view outside your window? Come on, relax and dream for just a minute and paint that perfect stress-free picture in your mind.
Now, picture Jesus Christ, His arms outstretched waiting to embrace you. His words are calm, soothing, inviting beyond imagination. "Come to Me," He says, "all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest." Rest far beyond just a mental picture in your mind, and rest far beyond actually being in that mental picture. The stresses and worries of your life are simply no match for the Master's hand.
By Jim Penner
Crystal Cathedral Ministries
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