Matthew 11: 28 - 30 NKJV
It's been said that the best way to understand someone is to walk a mile in their shoes. To immerse yourself in their situation. I couldn't agree more. Far too often we refuse to see where someone is coming from simply because we refuse to walk that extra mile. It seems that part of being human is to all too often see life through our own perceptions. To walk a mile in someone's shoes is to put yourself in their position. To see things the way they see them. However, what if one of our greatest gifts ever received was not to walk a mile in another's shoes, but in a old pair of dusty sandals? Would you put on a old pair of well worn sandals if it meant that your heart would be less burdened with every day worries? I would...and I have. We're told that Jesus, in the book of Matthew, invites everyone who carries the cares and worries of life to walk in His dusty sandals {Matthew 11:28-30}. The opportunity to give up the worries of this life should be a chance everyone should jump at, but that few ever do. For when you take on the life of Jesus, you suddenly realize that those worries of yesterday are better left behind you where they belong. It is no secret that we are living in dangerous times lately. I read the other day that there has been a increase in the suicide rate in the United States over the past month. Now, more than ever, we need Christ Jesus in our lives. I believe that when Jesus asks us to "Take My yoke upon you" that He is not only inviting us to share in His life, but encouraging us in the realization of who it is we truly are. Traditional Christian teachings will tell us that taking upon us the yoke of Jesus simply means placing our cares and worries upon Him. Many of us will wonder, "Is this the closest I'll ever get to Jesus?" The answer, happily, is no. The apostle Paul tells us in Galatians that it is Christ Jesus who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}. We are not simply placing our cares and worries upon Jesus, but our entire lives. Jesus isn't just here for a temporary feel good pat on the back, but to share in everything we are.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2: 20 NKJV
When we walk in the sandals of Jesus, we are doing more than just borrowing them for a short while. For when we come to the realization that Christ is in us, it is we who are giving up the shoes we walk in. As Paul tells us, we no longer live. That old man died with Jesus on the cross {Romans 6:6}. That who we once were, is no more. Jesus has replaced it and He now shares in everything we do. There is no thought, worry or situation we may encounter that Jesus is not a part of. I grew up in a Christian home, so the reality of Christ in me seemed outlandish at first. Following the Christian line, I believed that I carried far too much sin for Jesus to ever be that close to me. However, the real breakthrough for me came when I realized that Jesus has provided for my sin issue as well {Romans 6:11}. I am now dead to sin. That's right, not only did Jesus give Himself for the forgiveness of my sins, but He ensured that I would remain that way. For what good is the forgiveness of sin if sin is not defeated? What remains is the freedom in the knowing that Jesus and I are one {John 17:21}. I find no freedom in the traditions and teachings of the institutional church. No, true freedom comes when we find Jesus in us. I don't need to walk in those dusty sandals, Jesus was there the entire time.
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