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Christ has Promised Us Rest, September 20
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest.
Matthew 11:28
.
Jesus invites the weary and care-laden sons and daughters of Adam to come
to Him, and lay on Him their heavy burdens. But many who hear this invitation,
while sighing for rest, yet press on the rugged path, hugging their burdens close to
their heart. Jesus loves them, and longs to bear their burdens and themselves also
in His strong arms. He would remove the fears and uncertainties that rob them of
peace and rest; but they must first come to Him, and tell Him the secret woes of
their heart. He invites the confidence of His people as the proof of their love for
Him. The gift of the humble, trusting heart is more precious to Him than all the
wealth that riches can bestow. If they would only come to Him in the simplicity and
confidence with which a child would come to His parents, the divine touch of His
hands would relieve them of their burdens.
Jesus, our compassionate Saviour, is the way, the truth, and the life. Why will
we not accept His gracious offer of mercy, believe His words of promise, and not
make the way of life so hard? ... The ways of Christ are ways of pleasantness,
and all His paths are peace. If we have made rough paths for our feet, and taken
heavy burdens of care in laying up for ourselves treasures upon the earth, let us now
change, and follow the path Jesus has prepared for us.
We are not always willing to come to Jesus with our trials and difficulties.
Sometimes we pour our troubles into human ears, and tell our afflictions to those
who cannot help us, and neglect to confide all to Jesus, who is able to change the
sorrowful way to paths of joy and peace.... Oh, that all, ministers and people, would
take their burdens and perplexities to Jesus, who is waiting to receive them, and to
give them peace and rest! (
The Signs of the Times, March 17, 1887
).
It is a terribly hard struggle to give up your own will and your own way. But
this lesson learned, you will find rest and peace. Pride, selfishness, and ambition
must be overcome; your will must be swallowed up in the will of Christ. The whole
life may become one constant love sacrifice, every action a manifestation, and every
word an utterance of love. As the life of the vine circulates through stem and cluster,
descends into the lower fibers, and reaches to the topmost leaf, so will the grace
and love of Christ burn and abound in the soul, sending its virtues to every part
of the being, and pervading every exercise of body and mind (
The S.D.A. Bible
Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 5, 1091, 1092
).
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