Shauna Letellier

Rest & Relief for Ragged Souls

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An Easy Burden?

By shauna 2 Comments

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am

It’s one of my favorite verses. It even appears at the end of everything you read here. Sometimes it seems a little funny to quote the whole verse though because its context is colored with an unfamiliar agricultural metaphor.

What on earth is a yoke?

In modern terms, it was a farm implement. The apparatus that bound two animals together in their work of pulling the plow. While the stronger animal bore the bulk of the weight, a smaller, younger animal learned from him. He learned the foreign language of their driver’s commands, and he learned it was easier to stagger forward together than to rebel against being held so close.

I like how Dr. John Koessler explains the metaphor Jesus uses.

“The yoke of rest that Jesus offers can be taken, but it cannot be seized by force. We do not manage ourselves into it, acquire it by bargain or even attain it by discipline. Rest as Jesus describes it must be done for us. … What Jesus says might be translated something like “I will rest you” or “I will refresh you.” This rest is as relational as it is experiential. We come to Christ and he refreshes us. We do not come to Christ, receive our rest and then go our way. By offering us rest, Christ offers himself.”

(The Radical Pursuit of Rest, p.32)

I will rest you.

I will teach you.

It’s good news, isn’t it?

We don’t have to muster up enthusiasm to prove to him we’re ready and willing to work. We don’t need to manufacture some spiritual strength. We don’t even have to know how to do it.

He is the initiator, the teacher, the burden bearer.

There’s just one thing that’s up to us.

Our job is to come to him. Weary, burdened, uninstructed, but eager to be fastened to the one who teaches and rests us.

And that is easy and light and particularly good news.

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Filed Under: Books, Rest & Relief

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    October 8, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    YES! I love this. It is wonderful that we get the joy of coming to Jesus and as we’re in His presence, He accomplishes His will in us. He gets the glory; we get the joy.

    Reply
    • shauna says

      October 9, 2016 at 6:09 am

      I love that, Kathy…”He gets the glory; we get the joy!”

      Reply

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HI THERE!

I’m Shauna, and I help worn-out Christians find permanent rest and relief by retelling gospel stories that highlight Jesus’ kindness toward ordinary people like us.

In my books and on this blog, I weave history, theology, and fictional detail into a fresh retelling of familiar Bible stories. I started writing them because I needed them. When I shared my stories, people said they made the Bible come to life.

If you could use some permanent rest and relief, download my free Bible story devotional.

 

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