Got Fruit ?

At time’s it’s hard being a Christian. In one corner there’s the witness & testament “pressure” that comes from living to be an example to the world of what Christ is about, and of what He is able of doing in the lives of any and everyone that will accept His invitation. Knowing fully well that I’m not perfect, and will from time to time stumble, Scripture reminds me of what Jesus said about our pursuit of Him and paints a picture of the attitude we should have.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “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 gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“Come to me”, this is how Jesus starts Matthew 11:28. Three little words that give the direction, the relief, the resolution to whatever is troubling our hearts, mind and soul. “Come to me”. The invitation extended to… “all that are weary and burdened”.

The first “pressure” that usually comes to my mind is whether or not I’m living up to God’s expectations. In the extreme sense one could find themselves relating to God from a legalistic perspective, if this kind of pressure is allowed to consume; concentrating all of one’s energies on the law yet forgetting about God’s grace. Way too much pressure there! Then comes the reality of things, God doesn’t force Himself upon anyone, He does however freely offer His mercy and grace. Now accepting His mercy, demands certain changes within each of us, but the nice thing is that those changes that His perfection demands are aided by God, expressed through His Holy Spirit operating in the believer’s life.

If you’re married and or have children, then there’s the spiritually parental “pressure” to be the living role model to your loved ones. I’m not referring to being the “Sunday Christian” or “Easter Christian”, but rather the minute by minute, day by day,24/7, 365 days a year sold out to Jesus Christ follower. Personally this has been the tougher of the “pressures”, because I want my kids to understand the eternal importance of having a relationship with Christ, their salvation is at stake. Yet Christ offers to me these words to live by; and to be an example to my kids and others… “for I am gentle and humble in heart”.

Then, there is the self-defeating “pressure” of guilt that we can impose upon ourselves. I recall when I went back to college to earn my degree. I was a father of three, married, working full-time & carrying a full load at the local university. I had perhaps 30 hours of general education courses under my belt. As I pursued my degree, “electives” we’re far and few between, plus, my first year back in school was probationary. In addition to all of this, I had it set in my mind to finish as quickly as possible, the prime reason being that my peers had already graduated about a decade earlier. I was a little behind the curve in my mind; I measured where I was in life compared to my peers, as being a failure. By God’s grace… He spoke a word into my heart (the skull was too thick to penetrate). I began to look at returning to school as one small path of my life, that had to be traveled in order to get to the end of the road. A hat tip to the marriage counselor as well for painting a picture of just how stretched thin my former wife and I were; being parents, students, employees, taxi cab drivers, homemakers, & whatever else seemed so important and pressing back then.

These “pressures” are the result of the attitude that we each take on when faced with problems, or speed bumps in life. By way of some discussion from Adult Bible study last week, the study group was reminded of the dangers of not checking our thoughts & attitudes. This attitude that can get the best of us if allowed, and having many forms of thoughts comes in the form of guilt:

• “I still sin!” (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:8-9)
• “I’m not as good as…”(Matthew 11-28-30, Romans 8:31-39)
• “I did some pretty horrible thing before I became a Christian” (Luke 15:11-24, 1st John 1:9, Psalm 103:11-12)
• “I don’t feel like a Christian” (Romans 8:1, 1st Corinthians 11:30-32, Hebrews 12:5-11)
• “My faith isn’t that strong” (Romans 10:17)

It’s a struggle in and of itself to keep pace with the demands that life brings; family, church, jobs,relationships, etc; However, when we deny allowing Jesus to handle our worries,burdens or struggles, instead attempting to handle problems on our own; we are eventually going to break. Which is why Jesus desires for us to cast our worries and burdens on Him, we can’t handle them alone, we weren’t designed by God to handle that load. In Deuteronomy, even Moses understood his limitations.

And Jesus said in Matthew 11:29-30….”29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Grace and peace be with you.