The Great Invitation

The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11, Verses 28 thru 30 KJV ²⁸Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

What wonderful words Jesus uses to call us to Himself! I bet you're like me and have read these very words many times without actually thinking about their real meaning. If we go back to the book of Genesis we'll find that when Adam and Eve sinned they brought a curse not only on the human race but to the earth also. From the minute they were sent away from the Garden of Eden they were told they would have to earn their living by the sweat of their brow.

Genesis 3:17-19 KJV ¹⁷And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; ¹⁸Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; ¹⁹In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, our kinsman redeemer is telling us He has come to lift the curse. All we have to do is to come to him to find the rest our weary souls need. He has come to lighten our burdens if we will just come to Him in faith. He has come to lift the curse of sin for all who will just come to Him.

What burden are you carrying today? Is it money and the desire for nice things? Maybe you seek fame; you want everyone to know who you are. Possibly you seek the pleasures life has to offer? We now live in a world where every pleasure imaginable is available to those willing to sell their souls for them. You might even be one who is looking for a nice quiet life just to take your ease and be left alone. The question now for all of us is who are we carrying these burdens for? The money and nice things, who are they for? The fame and recognition who is it for? The pleasures of life, who are they for? If your answer is you then you're leading a self-centered life and you are carrying a very heavy burden.

Jesus said "Come unto Me." Let me lighten your burdens; let me give you the rest you need. He has promised to meet all of our needs but herein lays the problem --- we don't want to just have our needs met. In striving for our wants we open ourselves up for the heavy burdens and sorrows. In the strivings for the more, the security of money and things, the striving for pleasure we tell God we don't want to just serve and rely on Him, we want to do it for ourselves.

I'm not condemning anyone because we are all human, most of us do the same things, but we have to come to a realization this is not God's way. He is our Father and knows that striving for riches and fame leads to broken homes, broken spirits and children who don't receive the proper training to equip them for life. The invitation is for all who have tried it their way and found the burden too heavy for them. The invitation is given because of His love for you and the abundant life He wants you to live.

When we do finally come to Him we find a new direction in life, a new purpose and reason for living. We find the heavy burden has been lifted, the frustrations of life are removed as we learn how to follow and obey in faith and trust in the one who gave His all to lift the curse of sin. We were not created to bear the curse of sin; we were created in the image of God to become sons and daughters, priest and rulers, more than just caretakers of a garden. The choice of course is yours, the door has already been opened, and the precious blood of the king has already been shed. Freedom from sin and your heavy burdens is just a prayer away. He must sit on the throne of your heart.

The answer to life lies in knowing God. 'COME UNTO ME' The invitation has been given, the choice is yours.

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