“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
I used to read the word "rest" in this verse and think Jesus was telling His followers just to chill out. He was instructing them just to just lay around, do nothing, and take it easy. But because of my belief in a works based salvation, or the idea that my salvation was based on doing enough "good" things, this didn't make any sense to me.
So I just did what was normal for me when I came across something in the Bible that I didn't understand. I ignored it. I figured it must be irrelevant for us in today's world and culture. This would ease my mind and I could move on without having to make any real changes. However, when I started understanding the power and the continued relevance of Jesus' teachings, ignoring what He said was no longer acceptable to me.
In my attempt to gain a better understanding of what Jesus meant when He said "rest,” I have been learning that it doesn't mean anything close to what I thought it did.
Webster's dictionary defines rest as "to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength." I think this is a little more in line with what Jesus was getting at. Jesus was saying He could give us rest to refresh ourselves and recover the strength to serve Him.
If we say we are resting in Jesus and we aren't motivated to do something, we should look more closely at where we’re resting because we should be willing to do whatever He asks!
