Rest

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11.28

How radical it must have been to hear the Saviour speak of ‘rest’. In a world that was full of labour and effort. In a world where the legalists had made every commandment an onerous burden. Crippling religion took people to their breaking point. Christ brought rest.

And didn’t he just.

Right in the surrounding verses, we see Him provide rest to:

• men who were unsettled by hunger (Matt 12.1)
• a man who is handicapped by disability (Matt 12.13)
• an individual who was possessed by demons (Matt 12.22)

Rest to Women

Think of those widows and wives who were burdened with carrying responsibility in the home. We recall the woman who had the issue with blood – burdened with social exclusion. The woman caught in adultery – burdened with brazen hypocrisy. The woman named Mary Magdalene – burdened with seven demons. The LORD gave them rest.
Think of how burdened the widow of Nain must have felt until the Saviour drew near and gave her rest by raising her son, the breadwinner and companion to life. And lest we excuse ourselves from bringing rest to others, when we ourselves are burdened – think of what our brother Matt reminded of us last week – how vulnerable Mary must have felt until the Saviour spoke those words, ‘woman, behold they son…’. Of all the times to be thinking of how one could relieve others’ burdens. Remarkable.

Rest to the Weak

Think of those poor, weak and maimed folks who Christ drew alongside in all their moral and material poverty. Recall the lepers, hideously burdened with disease. The beggars at the wayside burdened with darkness. The millions without strength burdened with sinful nature. The LORD gave them rest and has given us rest too.

Rest to the Weary

Such is God’s wisdom, He knew that to simply relieve us of these burdens and leave us with nothing in their place, would not provide rest at all. As much as we love a good holiday, long term idleness is depressing. We were made to tend a garden. Long-term inactivity is as great a burden as anything else. Some of us know the feeling of having too much thinking time. So the solution is work then, is that right? Depends. If Ecclesiastes has taught us anything then work on its own is just vanity and wearisome. Work without God just makes us weary and heavy laden.

Unsurprisingly, the solution is Christ. Christ brings us into a relationship with God which is restorative and redemptive. A relationship which involves rewarding service for our Lord and Master. That kind of work is good work. That’s a yoke which is easy, a burden which is light. That is a burden we can encourage others to take – happy service for our God. But not the Pharisaical burdens of this world and of the flesh – no thank you.

Are you and I looking for ways in which we can relieve others’ burdens? Is your brother or sister struggling with sin? To such believers Paul writes, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Is your brother or sister struggling with scruples they have about matters of their conscience. Again Paul writes, “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” Is your brother or sister not of the same mind as you in the Lord – to quote Philippians 4.2? To such believers Paul writes, “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

What a rest a home enjoys when it is carrying Christ’s yoke. What a rest a marriage enjoys when neither party is burdening the other but only themselves with what is expected of them. What a rest an assembly enjoys when it carries only Christ’s yoke of servanthood and advancement of the glory of Another. I have been personally so encouraged at the service of one and another in our assembly these last twelve months. Every little act of kindness lifts a burden. It’s wonderful.

How glad we can be for Christ’s offer to come unto Him. Let us daily respond to that offer and find rest unto our souls.