"Come to Me."

I struggle a bit with insensitivity. Ok. I struggle a lot with insensitivity.

Generally, if people come to me with their problems, I listen to the whole story. I really do, but I don't feel compassion for their burdens. I usually say I will pray for them, which I do, but that's where it ends. The advice I usually give is to get over it and move on. So here I am - insensitive, lacking compassion and falling short of the person of Christ yet again. I find myself convicted to change my attitude toward the brokenhearted, hurting and lost people of the world. You know, the ones Jesus Himself came to earth to talk to face to face, comfort with His presence and save by His death on the cross?

In Bible study this week, I was struck by the simple and deep words of our Savior.

Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I know many have read that verse and sighed thinking how nice it is that Jesus cares about us individually and personally. I sigh too. But this simple verse goes so deep into the core of my heart and truly, it is possible to find rest for our souls in the embrace of Jesus Christ.

My mother (and doesn't it always work out that she is always right?) used to tell me to look for a husband with which I would be equally yoked. She told me this for as long as I can remember. To be totally honest with you, I, in my superficial rebellious years, took this on a completely outward, surface, statistical level. Now I really see the beauty and the depth of what she told me. I have found a husband with whom I am equally yoked. We share our life equally and pull the weight of our burdens together. It is amazing to see how God completes two people and makes them into one in the bonds of marriage, perfectly complementing the shortcomings of one with the strength of another. Can you think of a better way to get two sinners under one roof and live a lifetime of fellowship and happiness? I can't. Thank you, God, for the unthinkable joys of marriage.

When Jesus beckons us to come to Him, I swoon. I could stop reading the Bible right there and just take those three words with me forever. "Come to Me." But, as if we haven't been given enough, He goes on. He tells us to take His yoke upon ourselves. Think about that yoke in marriage. It's beautiful, but we share the burdens of each other. Jesus is asking us to let Him take on our burdens. Our silly burdens. All of them. When you yoke two animals together, you put the yoke around the neck. Jesus' burden is light, but ours is heavy. We are weighed down by our own sin and the consequences of the sin of others. We are weary of this world. Jesus, humbling Himself yet again, is willing, able and desiring to take our burdens on Himself. A lesson I was reminded of just this morning: When we are seeking to do things on our own, in our timetable and in our own way, we tug on that yoke (which you put on when you accepted Christ) and we feel the burden of our lives yet again. If we could just let ourselves follow Jesus and acknowledge His Kingship with our footsteps, we would feel the rest that comes with following the path Jesus is on for us. We are not alone in this life, because Jesus has put His easy yoke on us. 

Jesus has also told us that He is gentle and humble in heart. Oh, how I desire to be like Him! So why then do I find rest for my own soul and give my own problems to Jesus, but remain insensitive to the burdens of others? When I have found this sweet rest for my weary soul in following Christ, I have the knowledge of how to relieve others as well. I'm no counselor, but I know a Wonderful One.

No longer will I disqualify the burdens of others as silly or assume any problems are easily dealt with. Jesus takes them all, so I should be pointing them all to Jesus. I can't stand by and allow people to hurt all around me while telling them to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. They will fall deep into the pit if they try to get out on their own. Jesus says later in the book of Matthew that all who attempt to get out on their own will end up worse off in the end. How true I know that to be! So join with me, and let our words not be stumbling blocks for others. Let's not merely listen to problems, but offer the one and only solution for all of them - King Jesus Christ.

John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

You matter.

For as long as I can remember, I have struggled with the thought that my existence was meaningless. What could a broken, misled, rebellious runaway ever be worth? Those thoughts led me to believe that God could never care about what happened to me. You can only imagine how a person lives when they think the God of the universe forgot about them. 

Here is the beautiful truth, friend. I know it now and how I wish I had known it then! God knows you. You matter to Him. In fact, you are so precious to Him that not only did He die for you in the most humiliating way, but He is coming back after He has prepared a wonderful place for you in His kingdom. He says you're worth it. You're worth dying for.

Psalm 139:13-16 

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb. 

I will give thanks to You, 

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well. 

My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them. 

God created you. Everything and everyone, but specifically, He created you. You matter. He carefully planned all your days before you were born and knit you together Himself in your mother's womb. No matter the circumstances of that conception, your life now or your past, God knows you. He is in control. He has wonderful and awesome plans for each one of us. Each one. You. 

Your life doesn't disqualify you. In fact, you are qualified because of the life God planned for you. 

Do you think you are too broken? Look at Rahab. A prostitute redeemed and rewarded because she feared The Lord and was a part of the heritage of our Savior. 

Do you think you have turned your back on God too many times? Look at Peter. The one who denied Christ and ended up leading many to Him. 

Do you think you are too young? Look at David. A youth who ended up slaying a giant and a king Israel would not soon forget. 

Do you think you are too weak? Look at Gideon. The least of his family and yet trusted God, yielding mighty results in battle. 

God is calling you. And when God calls, He qualifies. He knows you and you do matter. Every part matters. Whether you are called to stay at home and raise your family or to travel around the world as a missionary, you are called. Will you listen?

Will you listen to the God who made you, has cared for you, planned your days before they existed and knows your innermost being? 

You matter to Him. You always have. You always will. He says you are worth it.