Why is My Spiritual Life Such a Struggle? -- Part One
"So why is my spiritual life such a struggle?" There are several answers, I think, but this first one is the most important. Your spiritual life will be a struggle for you if you have never come to Jesus Christ. [Your spiritual life may be a struggle even if you do follow Jesus--I'll get to that situation in my next blog.]
One of Jesus' most meaningful invitations to be his disciple is recorded in Matthew's gospel.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," (Matthew 11:28-30)
If you really have come to Jesus, one thing that is guaranteed to happen is that Jesus will give you rest. No more struggling, no more weariness. "You will find rest for your souls."
What does it mean to come to Jesus? Well, as Jesus explains it here, it means to take his yoke on your shoulders and learn from him. Some of you may not know that a yoke was a big wooden harness that farmers would put on their ox or oxen to pull a plow in their fields. The yoke is a farming metaphor (symbol). Jesus is the farmer, and we are his oxen. It sounds like hard, sweaty, dusty work, but really it isn't. Jesus promises to give you rest. Jesus says that his yoke is easy, that his burden is light.
Let me put it this way. The Christian life is not hard. The life tasks Jesus has for you and for me are easy and light. There is, of course, one qualification. We must have come to Jesus, really and truly come to Jesus, cross your heart and hope to die come to Jesus.
I can imagine someone saying, "Well, I've come to Jesus, and my life is a constant struggle. I am weary to death of the Christian life. Your interpretation of what Jesus said must obviously be wrong."
That may be. But I am simply reading what Jesus promised, and reasoning from his promise. If his promises don't apply to you, then I guess you'll need to deal with that. But if you have come to, Jesus promised that your life's task would be easy and light for you.
There is one thing I can say with confidence: If you feel burdened and weary, like you want to quit, like your life is too great a struggle, then in some sense or another, you need to come to Jesus. Maybe for the first time, or perhaps like the prodigal son, but you need to come to Jesus, put his yoke on, and learn from him.
One of Jesus' most meaningful invitations to be his disciple is recorded in Matthew's gospel.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light," (Matthew 11:28-30)
If you really have come to Jesus, one thing that is guaranteed to happen is that Jesus will give you rest. No more struggling, no more weariness. "You will find rest for your souls."
What does it mean to come to Jesus? Well, as Jesus explains it here, it means to take his yoke on your shoulders and learn from him. Some of you may not know that a yoke was a big wooden harness that farmers would put on their ox or oxen to pull a plow in their fields. The yoke is a farming metaphor (symbol). Jesus is the farmer, and we are his oxen. It sounds like hard, sweaty, dusty work, but really it isn't. Jesus promises to give you rest. Jesus says that his yoke is easy, that his burden is light.
Let me put it this way. The Christian life is not hard. The life tasks Jesus has for you and for me are easy and light. There is, of course, one qualification. We must have come to Jesus, really and truly come to Jesus, cross your heart and hope to die come to Jesus.
I can imagine someone saying, "Well, I've come to Jesus, and my life is a constant struggle. I am weary to death of the Christian life. Your interpretation of what Jesus said must obviously be wrong."
That may be. But I am simply reading what Jesus promised, and reasoning from his promise. If his promises don't apply to you, then I guess you'll need to deal with that. But if you have come to, Jesus promised that your life's task would be easy and light for you.
There is one thing I can say with confidence: If you feel burdened and weary, like you want to quit, like your life is too great a struggle, then in some sense or another, you need to come to Jesus. Maybe for the first time, or perhaps like the prodigal son, but you need to come to Jesus, put his yoke on, and learn from him.
posted by Ron Goetz | 6:17 PM
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