Responsibilities, expectations, deadlines. Trying to balance a full day in the court of law, returning home to be husband to my dearest wife and father to my 7 month old baby girl, add the multitudes of issues and human complexities in my church ministry, and throw in the discipline of an exacting fitness regime, you will see that my life is no easy task. There is almost not enough time every day. Recently my wife brought home a pamphlet from church entitled "Busy Husbands, Lonely Wives". Not sure if she was trying to tell me something.
As I pondered the issue of time and work, I begin to realise that the danger is not that we are unable to do enough for God, the danger is that we are doing too much. Somehow, I feel the Christian life was never meant to be this tiring. It was at this point that I turned to the familiar words of Christ in Matthew 11:28,29 - "Come to me all you who labour 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." The question I found myself asking was, how really do we enter the rest of God?
As I read around the verses preceding and after this famous verse, and prayerfully asked the Spirit for His counsel, the truth soon dawned on me. In the preceding verses, Jesus had lamented that the Jews had condemned both John the Baptist and himself (11:18,19). He then chided the cities in which his mighty works had been done because they had failed to recognise the works of God (11:20-24). Jesus then went on to say that these things were hidden from the wise but revealed to the babes and that the Father would only be revealed to those whom the Son reveals Him to. Then he spoke the words of rest in Matt 11:28,29. As I meditated on these verses, the Spirit revealed to me a simple truth - There is a pressing need for us to recognise the true works of God. The Jews in their pride were not able to. Only the humble at heart are. The reason for our never ending strife and our tiredness is that in the quest to fulfill our proud ambitions, we are unable to distinguish what is God's work and what is not God's work, but our work. We often claim to be building God's kingdom but are in reality striving to build our own treasures and kingdoms on this earth. The result - we take on much more than God ever intended, at work, in ministry and in our extra-curricular pursuits. It is only to the humble at heart that Jesus will reveal the Father. And it is only those who have seen the Father who are able to discern the works that are from God. The works that come from God, these we should pursue. The works that are not from God but from our flesh, these, we should be wise not to unnecessarily burden ourselves with.
As I moved on to read the verses after Matt 11:28,29, Matthew writes of an episode of the disciples plucking grains in a grainfield on the Sabbath to eat because they were hungry. They were chided by the Pharisees. Jesus then gave the example of David entering into the temple on the Sabbath and eating the showbread. He then makes a startling remark to the Pharisees, "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy not sacrifice,' you would not condemn the guiltless." Herein lies the next truth in respect of rest. Only when we are able to recognise the work of God are we able to enter the rest of God. The Pharisees in their own human pride had burden themselves with the works of man, and therefore even on the Sabbath, could never find rest but continued to lay more burdens upon themselves and others. Yet if we were able to see the true heart of God, we would know and recognise His true work. For the work of God was always concerned about genuine need, the needs of His beloved children. The Father's heart was always one of mercy and love. And there was always enough time for each child. Those who engaged in the Father's work, no more and no less, would likewise enter the rest of God, for God himself was able to work for six days and to rest on the seventh.
Only one thing is needful for an overcommitted and tired-out Christian. That is to learn to recognise the works of God. We put aside the strife of our flesh, and embrace only those works which flow from the Father's heart. In doing so, our souls will also experience the rest of God. For His yoke is easy and his burden is light (11:30).