Read: Matthew 11:25–30
Bible in a Year: Ezra 9–10; Acts 1
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29
A friend and his wife, now in their early nineties and married for
sixty-six years, wrote their family history for their children,
grandchildren, and generations to come. The final chapter, “A Letter
from Mom and Dad,” contains important life-lessons they’ve learned. One
caused me to pause and take inventory of my own life: “If you find that
Christianity exhausts you, draining you of your energy, then you are
practicing religion rather than enjoying a relationship with Jesus
Christ. Your walk with the Lord will not make you weary; it will
invigorate you, restore your strength, and energize your life” (Matt.
11:28–29).
Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Jesus’s invitation in this
passage begins, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? . . .
Walk with me and work with me. . . . Learn the unforced rhythms of
grace” (The Message).
When I think that serving God is all up to me, I’ve begun working for Him instead of walking with
Him. There is a vital difference. If I’m not walking with Christ, my
spirit becomes dry and brittle. People are annoyances, not fellow humans
created in God’s image. Nothing seems right.
When I sense that I’m practicing religion instead of enjoying a
relationship with Jesus, it’s time to lay the burden down and walk with
Him in His “unforced rhythms of grace.”
Lord Jesus, I come to You today to exchange my frenzied work for Your pathway of grace.
Jesus wants us to walk with Him.
© 2017 Our Daily Bread Ministries
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