Jesus Gives Rest, The Church Gives Work

Following Jesus Christ is supposed to be restful.

Matthew 11:28–30 ESV “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.””

So, why does church life seem so busy and burdensome at times?

Who Made You Heavy Laden?

Sometimes it is our churches themselves that pile it on.  Programs are overdone and still find ways to get bigger every time around.  Structures are in out-of-control growth mode.  Relationships come with heavy ongoing expectations and can’t seem to be just normal.  Event after event requires commitment after commitment.  New emphases or themes arrive with each new year requiring refocus or retooling.

Sometimes it is the church’s fault, and we want to escape, or run and hide for a while.  But sometimes our heavy load is our own fault.  We sign up for too many things.  We find our significance in excessive spiritual activity.  We expect too much from ourselves, and then often we are the ones who end up overburdening others with our expectations of what makes for spiritual spirituality.

Shift the Burden, Regardless

If the burden is imposed on us, how might we rest in the midst of the burden?  First of all, we must trust in the Lord’s sovereignty in our situation and not panic.  Next, we need to remind ourselves that the “why” of what we are doing is Jesus.  Then, in repeated times of prayer we must let Him carry the burden for us.  Finally, we should seek to help our church leaders see what is going on and make adjustments for the sake of our church body.

If the burden is self-imposed, how might we rest by lightening our burden?  We should begin by recognizing that it is our doing and not seek to blame others for our over commitment.  Then, we should rethink our personal commitments and what we can give that will most effectively advance the Gospel mission.  Once we have settled in prayer where we need to go, we can responsibly exit some of our commitments.  Finally, we should think and pray through who else we might have drawn into our pseudo-spiritual frenzy, and help them through the same process.

Our Lord Jesus Christ will save us from ourselves and from our religious busyness.  This is yet one more application of Hebrews 4, especially verse 10,  “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.”