No greater invitation has ever been given than the one by Jesus in Matthew 11.  Let’s consider it for a few minutes tonight.

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)
²⁸  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹  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. ³⁰  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

All who are outside of Christ can be accurately described as being “heavy laden.”  While it is true that the burdens of sickness, sorrow, death, doubt, and disillusionment plague a large majority of people in this world, the greatest burden of all has plagued every person ever born into this world who has reached the age of accountability.  I am referring to the burden of sin.

Sin personified is man’s greatest enemy.  It is the tool the devil uses to separate man from God and destined him to the same hell in which he and his angels will spend eternity (Matthew 25:41).  Sin will not only destroy your soul, but it is very likely to have an adverse effect upon your life in this world as well.  I know most sin appears to be attractive on the outside.  That is why the devil uses it as bait.  On the inside, however, there is a hook that will snag your life and drag you into despair.

Ask the drunk or drug user about the hook of sin.  Consult the man or woman hooked on gambling about the danger of sin.  Regardless of its nature, whether it be sins of the world, sins of the flesh, or sins of the heart, it is all very alluring until it has its clutches in you, then the negative side of it surfaces.  Sadly, by then, it ends up being too late for the majority of people.  More times than not, the person overwhelmed by sin, dies in it.

There is a solution to the problem of sin.  It is a solution for both the person who has never obeyed the gospel and the wayward child of God.  That solution is to accept the invitation of Jesus.  “Come to me,” Jesus says, and He will give you rest.  He alone can give you rest from the load of sin.

The good news about following Jesus is that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30).  What was the yoke of Christ?  It is all that He demands of His disciples, including the law that one becomes obligated to obey upon obeying the gospel.  The law of Christ, that is, the gospel, is a light burden to bear compared to the law to which His hearers were bound.  The yoke of Judaism was unbearable.

Acts 15:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

The yoke of Christ is bearable because it is full of grace and mercy.  A person does not have to do the impossible to be saved and to maintain his salvation.   The only requirement is to continue in the faith.

Colossians 1:22-23 (ESV)
²²  He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ²³  if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

While being a follower of Christ might be hard at times, if you  stumble, Christ will lift you up.  All you have to do is repent and pray to God (Acts 8:22), and the blood of Christ will do the rest (1 John 1:7).  No wonder Jesus said, “…my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.