Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Jesus isn't talking primarily about the labor of daily work which has its own dignity and can be satisfying. Adam was instructed to guard and till the garden while he was still in a state of original justice. It was after he sinned that frustration and difficulty entered the picture. Jesus invited all of those exhausted by toil to come to him for rest. It would not necessarily mean a cessation from all work or effort, but rather a freedom from frustration and a stable disposition of peace. Without Jesus all of our work is like that described by the prophet Isaiah:
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
This is especially true in the spiritual realm. The more that we try to accomplish on our own, or to adhere to the yoke of the law by our own strength, the more we realize that it is impossible for human beings, just as Jesus explained (see Matthew 19:26). Jesus, the new Adam, offers his supernatural strength, enabling us to bear the yoke together with him that he first bore for our sakes. He did what the first Adam could not do and now enables us to do the same through his grace. This allows us to enter into the rest that was always meant for us even while we still have work that needs to be done, both in the world and in our souls.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
We typically assume that the traits that make work easier are mostly competence and efficiency. But to have rest even whilst we yet face challenges the real characteristics that we must learn from Jesus are meekness and humility. Meekness has been called strength under control. Therefore it is not just any kind of strength that makes work easy. It is strength that we don't use in ways that are futile and frustrating. This kind of strength requires humility, which includes patience. Rather than slamming ourselves repeated into doors that won't open we must learn to accept our circumstances as God given and content ourselves to do what we can, rather than trying to force what is clearly impossible.
What is it actually like to share the yoke of Jesus and experience his promised rest? Compared to the frustration of life apart from him it feels like a resurrection, like purpose, like finally believe able to fully live in a way we never could before.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.
and I will give you rest.
Jesus isn't talking primarily about the labor of daily work which has its own dignity and can be satisfying. Adam was instructed to guard and till the garden while he was still in a state of original justice. It was after he sinned that frustration and difficulty entered the picture. Jesus invited all of those exhausted by toil to come to him for rest. It would not necessarily mean a cessation from all work or effort, but rather a freedom from frustration and a stable disposition of peace. Without Jesus all of our work is like that described by the prophet Isaiah:
We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.
This is especially true in the spiritual realm. The more that we try to accomplish on our own, or to adhere to the yoke of the law by our own strength, the more we realize that it is impossible for human beings, just as Jesus explained (see Matthew 19:26). Jesus, the new Adam, offers his supernatural strength, enabling us to bear the yoke together with him that he first bore for our sakes. He did what the first Adam could not do and now enables us to do the same through his grace. This allows us to enter into the rest that was always meant for us even while we still have work that needs to be done, both in the world and in our souls.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
We typically assume that the traits that make work easier are mostly competence and efficiency. But to have rest even whilst we yet face challenges the real characteristics that we must learn from Jesus are meekness and humility. Meekness has been called strength under control. Therefore it is not just any kind of strength that makes work easy. It is strength that we don't use in ways that are futile and frustrating. This kind of strength requires humility, which includes patience. Rather than slamming ourselves repeated into doors that won't open we must learn to accept our circumstances as God given and content ourselves to do what we can, rather than trying to force what is clearly impossible.
What is it actually like to share the yoke of Jesus and experience his promised rest? Compared to the frustration of life apart from him it feels like a resurrection, like purpose, like finally believe able to fully live in a way we never could before.
But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;
awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the land of shades gives birth.
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