Rest

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30)

That’s what Jesus said to me today. And I replied, "What rest? What is that?" Oh, I know what rest is. I’ve been "resting" since April, technically. I don’t look at the clock, I don’t have to be somewhere from 8 to 5, I don’t have to get up for anything at all. The only things I do now are things I say yes to, all of them a one-time-handshake kind of thing (and no, nothing illegal, although the way I described it here seems to sound like it is!).

But what is rest? I’ve been "resting" so much that I feel useless, slothful. If this is rest, I’d rather be at work. And yet, Jesus told me today to come to Him, and He will give me rest. It’s funny He should ask. Almost like He knows something I don’t — which He probably does. 

I like that, when He said "Learn the unforced rhythms of grace." In the world I grew up in, you either force the rhythm, or you end up marching to someone else’s beat, or else watch the world go by and leave you in the dust. But grace. Well, that’s a different story.

Someday, I should take Jesus up on that offer.