The gentle invitation is always there before us, laid out and waiting, full of every true and genuine intent of love’s petition. As invitations go it is simple, yet profound; layered with but a few words which describe many.
Come…. ALL who labor, and I will give you rest.
The promise of a place of rescue and rest are penned within this message of hospitality.
- A hope-filled place of grace… a place to belong.
It is a table where joy dines, mercy is the main course, and eternity is etched within our hearts.
- A peace-filled place of refreshment… a place to escape.
It is a home where we can release the burdens that bind us to the weights of the world.
…….yet we fail to heed its demands, because so few of us truly come to rest.
We come, yes, but it is usually loaded with the heaviness that bends us low, keeping our eyes looking towards the ground as we journey.
We come, yes, but it is usually filled with the oppressive sorrow of navigating the hard things which steal the life in our living.
We come, yes, but it is usually burdened by the temporal obligations and we don’t know how to exchange them for the eternal yoke that is offered in fellowship with Christ.
We come…. but we don’t leave the load behind us.
Instead, we carry it right back down the road while the One who has purposed to release us stands with hands still outstretched, waiting for us to see the Truth. As we live this journey, as we continue to entertain grace and all its beauty, we see the point of the inviting…to lighten the load we wear together, to live intentionally in order to love deeply.
The revelation of His purpose solidifies the validity of the invitation for each of us.
In order to accept the invitation for what it is, we need to recognize the One who is inviting us into His presence, where joy resides and hope abounds towards glory.
At that time Jesus began to say, I thank You,Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and clever and learned and revealed them to the childish, the unskilled, and untaught… for it was Your gracious will and good pleasure. All things have been given to Me by the Father, and no one fully knows and understand the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows and understands the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son deliberately wills to make Him known. Come to me, ALL who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.(Matthew 11:25-28; emphasis mine)
Here in this verse is a revelation of the heart of the Father extended through the life of the Son. It was His good pleasure to reveal Himself through the Son and thereby extend an open and welcoming invitation to us by grace.
We are entrusted to the ONE who can make good on His invitation, friend…. so what holds you back?
Grace opens doors that are not held by the standards of the world.
Somewhere in the midst of our living we are choosing to define terms that are not ours to scribe. We fill our carry-on bags with the questions that we feel defend our stance, yet in reality our terms actually defy hope as we live by our own reason and rationale. We miss the beauty of blessing and the power of unity when we cast our vision everywhere but the one place that grace resides.
And just as easily we lift veiled eyes over the landscape of the hurting, the forgotten, the broken, the not-good-enough’s and the unfixables ( …those not so unlike us…), we look instead at the mountains we have built in our imaginations. We wear robes of pride in our closet of inadequacy, these phylacteries and prayer shawls that show our intended devotion well, and pretend that our religion is the answer. The scripted truths we tell ourselves, the reasons why things are hard and grace seems distant,often defer our pursuit of truth because we are heaping on more burden in the process.
But what if that isn’t what we are meant to do, friends?
What if religion is the biggest hurdle in our way, the largest stone in our basket, or the heaviest scroll we are reading from?
On Sunday, I sit in a chair as my Pastor approaches the pulpit. I scroll the empty chairs all set out inviting a body to sit in them, welcomed. I see the faces of the saints speaking graces to one another quietly, easing the load we wear just a bit more. Soon, the echo of praise and the prayer calls us to find our seats for the benediction of grace,
“Welcome all who are weary and heavy laden… if you are weary, come. If you are carrying a heavy load, come. If you are broken, come. You are welcome in the Name of the Lord.”
Another weight is released as we come to these altars of hope before us. Immediately I can feel my heart shedding baggage from that week, and I hear chords of discontent that bind me to the struggle ripping free. This invitation reminds me these burdens don’t have to be carried down a solitary road…Because the invitation isn’t just for me, it is one I can extend to others as I go.
Come… ALL who labor …. and you will find rest.
This invitation is more than a beckoning to come, it is a petition to bow and bend near to the well of grace. It is a plea of revelation for the weary heart to see that it is ok to be broken. It is a gentle reminder for the down-trodden to look up and know that your load is lifted as we allow Him to meet us in the journey, and walk with us. It is a command to obey for the sake of liberty in our stride rather than the bondage of religion upon our feet.
By faith we come and with His grace our burdens are laid down; His yoke of peace and humble loving always lightens our journeys so we can keep on walking to the finish line and bring others with us.
Only then will we be able to look at one another with the lens of love and hope.
Only then will we choose to start unloading burdens from bags rather than heaping stones upon shoulders.
Only then will we really know what it means to be light-bearers who answer the invitation by extending another one to those who are taking journey.
The destination that His invitation leads us to is the rest we find as we let go of all these things that keep us bound. The result is the ability to lead others to liberty as we journey to grace together.
Will you accept the invitation?
What are you laboring under friend?
What is the burden that is holding you down?
What is keeping you from the invitation that He give to come and enter into His rest?
I confess, I am still learning to let the baggage sit where He meets me. I am still learning to give up my will and take on his own, as I take that step of faith and obey. I’d like to think I pick the stones out of others bags, but I am afraid I can often add them as well as my own whether I intend to or not. I long for the grace to be revealed in a way that the letting go brings liberty for both myself and those He puts in my path on the journey.
Praying you will find the courage to accept the invitation, too.
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good – not harsh, hard sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. -Matthew 11:28-30
Linking up with friends for the journey.
SDG Gathering, Playdates with God, Unite, #RaRaLinkup, #TellHisStory, Coffee For Your Heart, Three Word Wednesday, Moms Morning Coffee, Thought Provoking Thursdays, Fellowship Fridays, Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop, Missional Women, Grace and Truth Link Up, Counting My Blessings, My Freshly Brewed Life, Saturday Soiree, Still Saturday, Give Me Grace
These are beautiful and truth-filled words, sweet Dawn. Thank you for reminding us of the invitation to lay down our burdens at His feet, and enter into rest. I am on a journey of healing from childhood abuse, and I have had to do this repeatedly. I have laid my burdens down, but I need to learn to leave them there – I am prone to picking them back up again. But thankfully, there is grace for even this.
Blessings and hugs,
Kamea
Beautifully written. Matthew 11 always comes back to me and it’s visiting me again in this season of life. Many are weary and aware of their need for a Savior, but some of us can’t believe it’s that easy. Blessed to be your neighbor from #TellHisStory.
I love this so much – we actually wrote on a similar topic today! Love the grace He offers allowing us to come to Him freely no matter what!
I have read several posts this week on rest and laying down our burdens and I know God is speaking directly to me. I was going to write on rest this week and was steered in a different direction by God but know that I need to write about rest soon. Your words are gentle, loving and soothing. Thank you!
I’m glad to be visiting you from #TellHisStory, Dawn! This is one of my favorite verses. Thank you for sharing your meditation on it. So true that we often come with those burdens held tight! We miss that rest that Jesus has.
Your words are so beautiful! This is not my first visit, and every time I stop by, I leave more fulfilled than I came. God doesn’t just want us to stop and rest, He wants us to unload at His feet everything that brings us pain and sorrow. You convey this message wonderfully, Dawn. Thank you for being such an encouraging presence!
Have you read those verses from Matthew from The Message? It talks about the unforced rhythms of grace. Goodness, such a beautiful phrase. And when I let God do that in my life, I wonder why I hesitate resting so many other times. This post is full of so much goodness. Thanks for sharing at #ThreeWordWednesday.
It seems that God is repeatedly reminding me today that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Thank you for being His means to get His point across to me.
Oh Dawn, your words resonate with the power of the invitation Jesus gave. I never thought of His ‘come’ as an invitation to receive His hospitality! That is just too powerful a thought for words right now. We come boldly and with confidence to His throne and see Him with arms spread wide and the table already set for us to join Him in a feast – all prepared by great love. Thank you, and may God continue to bless you so all do is from the overflow of His blessing.
Lovely post, thank God He continues to give out an invitation to come to Him for everything. Beautiful.
Dawn, Such a beautifully written blog post.
I was especially edified by your insights concerning leaving our own loads with the Lord and how by doing so our testimony will cause those we come in contact with to see in us the peace that surpasses all understanding which will draw them to want to know that Peace.
Thanks for sharing.
I feel like this is something I have to practice daily because I have had so much practice doing things backwards – holding on to what I’m supposed to give away and letting go of the Hand I’m supposed to hold. Wonderful to come here for a reminder to practice this very important habit – of coming and laying down the burden, leaving it there.
great post – how hard it is for us to truly come to Jesus and give over our burdens, yet how truly freeing it is when we do!
Beautiful grace-filled words — and a lovely blog! Thanks for your Truth-speaking.
I am with you standing with my baggage nearby ready to pick it up over and over because I have let it become part of me. I love how you invite us to let go of the baggage and claim God because it is only with Him that we will truly find rest. Barbie and I are so blessed that you shared this at The Weekend Brew.
I’m still learning too Dawn. But the more I live with His grace-filled peace, the more I want to trust Him with every burden. Thanks for this beautiful post!