Gentle and Lowly

Matthew 11:28-30

“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.”
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We are all heavy-laden.  The burdens we carry around every day weigh and slow us; “Am I good enough?”, “Am I smart enough?”, “Do people like me?” (maybe Stuart Smalley had something there…).  Life does sometimes feel like a labor, but not of love.

So how can a yoke be easy and a burden be light?

When I think about Christ’s words in Matthew’s Gospel, I am frankly perplexed.  Shouldn’t Jesus be telling me that He is strong, sturdy, built to carry the load?  There is something there, though.  Something just out of my mind’s reach…  When He speaks of gentleness, I feel peace.  When He tells me He is lowly in heart, waves stop crashing and there is calm.

Rest for my soul sounds so nice…

When we turn to Jesus, we can place all things on Him because He has already borne the weight of all humanity…past, present and future…upon His brow, through His hands and feet, into His side.  And yet though the multitude of  all people over the expanse of eternity sounds almost like I am nothing to him, He calls to me personally as His own, looks into my eyes, touches my heart and soothes my soul.

I don’t know how or why it works, but I don’t have to.  I accept Him.  I hand over my burdens. I am lightened.

Lord God, 

I am so thankful for Your Son and the ways He brings peace and comfort to me.  The burdens of this world crush and destroy, but His gentleness holds it back and protects me. 

When I cannot seem to move on, help me to remember that I can do all things through Him who strengthens me; because His power…Your power…is made perfect in my weakness. 

In the name of the Lamb, Jesus, 

Amen.