For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden…
- Acts 15:28
Jesus is the author of freedom, not of burden. Life carries enough difficulty and pain on its own. If our relationship with God becomes a burdensome thing, something is off kilter. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28).
We easily get caught up in trivial things, in unnecessary things, even in religious things. We tend to layer have-tos and musts on ourselves - or allow them to be piled on us by others. We become weighed-down; bowed and bent, trying to maneuver life while carrying refrigerators on our backs.
These burdens are tiring. And worse, they are joy-killers. They steal away the purity of our relationship with Christ. They rob us of life. Jesus "…came that you might have life, and have it abundantly," (John 10:10).
Grace is not carte blanche to live any way we choose or do whatever we feel. "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?" Paul asks the Romans. "By no means…," (Romans 6:1-2). Instead, the life of faith is lived by, "… run(ning) with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…" (Heb 12:1-2).
The Gospel brings clarity, not obscurity. Grace strips away the trivial. It doesn't add the weight of burden. The Christian life is simple; but it is by no means easy. "Looking to Jesus…" Peter walked on water when his eyes were fixed on Jesus. He sank when he focused on the storm around him. It is the same today; for you and me.
A mentor of mine used to say, "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." Jesus is the main thing.
God, I fix my eyes on you...
For now...
D
