I (Scott) woke up this morning entirely unmotivated to do much of anything. I have felt exceedingly exhausted as of late and the last thing that I wanted to do today was write something for Thursday’s Thoughts. That would require effort which I was honestly unwilling to put forth. But something has been nagging at me.
Exhausted
Rest-Deprived or Rest-Opposed
The words of Jesus,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Most of us are probably all too familiar with this Scripture, yet we find ourselves as individuals and as a society rest-deprived, and in some cases, maybe even rest-opposed.
When I feel weary, I order take-out, make an Old-Fashioned and turn on Parks and Recreation. All of this is done in an effort to escape a reality that sometimes feels too hard to face. As much as I would love to say that I run right into the arms of Jesus when I feel like I have nothing to give to those around me, it doesn’t happen all the time.
This week I have been reading Tish Harrison Warren’s new book Prayer in the Night. The framework of Warren’s book is the Anglican prayer of Compline and her own story of hardship, loss, beauty, redemption and hope which we will be talking about in upcoming posts.
Warren, and Anglican priest, shares her thoughts on Jesus’ invitation to the weary and what is offered in this invitation:
“Jesus promises nothing more or less than himself. He will yoke himself to us and never leave our side. He won’t take away the weight we bear, but he will bear it with us. God owes us nothing. Any happiness, success, or desire fulfilled is a gift to be received gratefully. It’s gravy.
God promises us simply himself. He refuses to be an end to any other means. By his mercy, we can taste eternal life, which is defined by Scripture not as making it to heaven or seeing our dreams coming true or nothing bad ever happening, but as knowing the true God and the one he has sent (John 17:3). That’s the promise: we can know God. Take it or leave it. Is Jesus Enough?
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The call of Jesus to follow him, is a promise that he will journey with us. The call for the weary to come to him, is an invitation, even a challenge to trust him. Indeed, there are times when we may feel that we have absolutely nothing to offer. Doing so may feel overwhelming, yet there is something that we can offer. As Christ offered himself to and for us, we can do the same for others. Furthermore, we offer Christ though our comfort, care, and kindness as we minister to each other and those around us.