EASY AND LIGHT?
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Our verses for today are a very well-known passage. The beautiful wording used by Jesus paints such a lovely picture. For people who are laboring and carrying a heavy load, Jesus gives rest. For people who have been uneasy, Jesus is gentle and kind and offers rest for weary souls. And for those who have been striving and straining, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.
And yet, we see a contrast. In the Christian life, we are encouraged to fight the good fight of faith. That does not sound easy and light. We are encouraged to run the race set before us. I used to run track and cross country. Competitive running is not easy and light. Paul wrote the church at Galatia telling them that those who belong to Christ are to crucify the flesh. And Paul told the Roman church to offer their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Nothing about crucifying and being a living sacrifice is easy or light. And I could go on with the metaphors surrounding the Christian life being anything but restful or easy on the soul.
No, living the Christian life is not for the weak. One has called Christianity the strong man’s religion. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 16:13, which instructs us to watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, and be strong. Then we are instructed to do everything in love and no way is walking in love easy. The Christian life is likened to a race, a fight, a sacrifice, and requires strength and perseverance. If living the Christian life was easy, then why would Jesus tell us that narrow is the way that leads to life? Or why would He say take up your cross and follow Me? Where is the easy and light in all of this? After all, if living this life was easy, everyone would do it. Instead of fight the good fight, it would be nap the good nap. Instead of run the race set before us, it would be float the lazy river. Now, that is easy and light.
So, what was Jesus referring to? He never lies, never exaggerates, and is not at all about hype and selling us a deal. We must distinguish the difference between coming to and receiving the Lord and living for the Lord. When Jesus was talking in Matthew, He was speaking to Jews who struggled to be right in God’s sight. Their religious laws made it increasingly difficult to be in right standing with God. And even if they were doing everything right, they still lived with the knowledge that all their human effort would not make them right before God. They still lived with a sense of being a sinner. And the animal sacrifices that were made every year were not enough to take away sins or cleanse their conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Oh, but when Jesus came, things changed. When He died on the cross, He paid the price for our sins, and He was raised from the dead to make us right before God. Receiving the salvation that Jesus provides is not about our efforts or our works. That leaves mankind weary and burdened down. Now, all that must be done in order to receive salvation is confess with our mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead. That’s all we do to receive salvation. That is easy, and that is light—no heavy loads to lift or being under a hard taskmaster. Simply believing what Jesus has done is how we find rest for our souls. No longer striving to be made right before God, simply receiving what He has already done. Salvation through Christ is coming to an arms-open Savior who offers rest that we did not earn or deserve.
Salvation through Christ is so easy. By God’s grace, we are saved through faith. Now that salvation has come, we are equipped to fight, to run, and to keep our flesh under control. God’s grace, easy and light makes us able to fight!
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord! I came to You for salvation and did not have to climb a mountain or swim a raging river. All I had to do was believe in what You have done and profess You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for making my salvation easy and light!