"What religiosity had perverted, Jesus promised to restore."

A thought by Charles R. Swindoll, from his book, Jesus: 09 (Great Lives Series) (p. 87). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Yes, He has.

Charles says, "Religion says, Work more. Try harder. Do this. Don’t do that. Give until you have no more. God isn’t yet pleased with you. Push, push, harder, longer! Jesus looked into the hearts of exhausted, overburdened, anxious, stressed-out people and offered a better way."

Jesus said, "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." Matthew 11:28–30

Later Charles says, "Jesus said, in today’s terms, 'Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace' (Matthew 11:28–29 MSG).

"Jesus described His yoke as chrestos, which means 'excellent,' 'serviceable,' 'useful,' 'adapted to its purpose,' 'good.' Frequently, a carpenter was commissioned to custom-carve a yoke to perfectly fit a particular animal. With a chrestos yoke, an ox or donkey could pull a plow for many hours without chafing or blistering. Furthermore, Jesus promised that His 'burden' (based on the same term as 'heavy-laden' in verse 28), would be light, or easy to bear. Jesus’ 'yoke' illustration conveys an invitation with three parts:

- He invites us to exchange the tiresome burden of legalism ('strict obedience to a host of rules and regulations') for a lifelong Sabbath of the soul.

- He invites us to accept Him as our teacher so that we might learn how He coped, how He managed stress, how He faced the pressures of the world with tact and grace, how He forgave, how He ministered to others, and how He remained connected to the Father.

-He invites us to reject slavery to religiosity, wealth, status, relationships, or anything else that burdens us so that we might become a slave to Him."

Charles then says, "The best word to describe servitude to Jesus Christ is refreshment."

Refreshment, now that is what we all need, isn't it? Yes, yes! #continuethought

Swindoll, Charles R.. Jesus: 09 (Great Lives Series) (p. 88). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

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