"Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'what shall we eat?' or 'what shall we drink?' or 'what shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things."
Matthew 6: 26 - 32 NKJV
They call it the rat race. The day-to-day life which we all endure. But for we Christians it will be different right? We who follow the Lord will assuredly have an easier time of it than others, right? Yeah, good luck with that. Jesus even speaks to us that life will bring its own share of difficulties {John 16:33}. Would He do this simply to unnerve us? No, He was preparing us for the rat race. I was thinking along these lines as we draw nearer to the Christmas season. That time of year when the entire world seems to turn materialistic overnight. There are worries about holiday parties, gifts to give and bills to pay. Oh, not to mention the worries of the gifts we may, or may not, receive. Not that this set of worries is more hectic than any other, but this is Christmas. This time of year should be all about coming together and sharing, right? Uh huh, good luck with that. For as much as the holiday season brings out the best in people, it brings out the worst as well. But, that's for another day. What I want to talk about is the worries which we all seem to have this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I feel that worry is inherent part of our human condition. That is, if you choose to accept it. There is a reason why Jesus told that assembled crowd on the mountain that day not to worry. He lists those reasons for us appropriately. Are you worried about what you will eat? The Lord provides for the birds, and you are much more valuable than they. Are you worried about what you will wear? Look around you to the flowers of the field and how beautifully the Father adorns them. Are you not more valuable than the flowers which will be gone by tomorrow? Would Jesus advise you to do something that would hurt you? No, homey don't play that way.
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light"
Matthew 11: 28 - 30 NKJV
Have you ever wished, in the midst of your own rat race, that you could somehow follow the advice of Christ Jesus and take His burden from Him? Oh, how wonderful that would be. Imagine not having a care in the world, aside from impending death on a Roman cross, the persecution of others and the teaching of a ragtag group of disciples. Yes, this was life as Jesus knew it. However, Jesus tells those who listened that His burden was light. All too often we get caught up in our life situations and lose sight of the freedom that we could have in Jesus. I admit I've been guilty of this more than a few times. Not too long ago I did a little study on the faith of the apostle Paul. Here was a man who was persecuted, jailed and belittled for his speaking about Jesus. We rightly see him as one of the greatest voices to preach Jesus, but in his day, Paul was seen as a trouble maker. Yet, he continued in his mission of speaking Jesus to all who would listen. What was the bedrock of the faith of Paul? I believe that Paul's understanding of who he truly was in Christ drove him forward in his ministry. It is in Galatians that we find Paul speaking to his realization of the man he was. Paul speaks to Christ Jesus living in Him {Galatians 2:20}. In essence, the old man persecutor Saul no longer existed but was replaced by Christ in him. Paul chose the lighter burden of Jesus. When Jesus invites us to take His burden from Him, He is by no means asking the impossible. For as we accept the burden of Christ, we soon come to the realization which Paul did, that it is Christ Jesus in us who is the centerpiece of our life. The rat race might rage on all around us, but we can choose to be participants or mere spectators.
"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
~Scott~
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