Come Unto Me!

Written October 27, 2006

Matthew 11:28 – 30
Come unto me, all  that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and you shall find rest unto your souls.
 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

TRANSLATION:

Come! Come now!(Imperative) to me, all you collective individuals who are weary and have grown exhausted.

You are loaded with  burdens, grief and unnecesary spiritual rites.

I will to cause or allow you to stop all work and motion to recover and collect strength.

I will  give you rest and  refreshment,  so you can be quiet, calm and wait in patient expectation.

As the mother of a too-soon walking, crawling and climbing infant, part of my wondrous job was to kiss and hug the little one when she fell and got an owie. To see her eyes and heart drawn to me at the slightest little pain or discomfort brought such joy and contentment to my heart.

I was so loved and needed!

Like all mothers, sometimes the boo-boo was so slight, I couldn’t even see the damage, so kissed a large circumference around the area pointed out in babbling toddlerese to insure the heart was mended.

Like all mothers, I have used hundreds of unnecessary Band-Aids, knowing the attention was an exercise in  building trust so they would bring to me the real pains in their future life.

As a too-mature 4 year old, sometimes when little Rebekah is hurt, she’s also angry  she’s hurt. Instead of rushing into my arms to let me kiss her owies away, she stands obstinate, refusing the comforting arms, the loving kisses and the means of restoring happiness.

 She will even get angry at the chair or at the person who left out the object that she tripped on. At that time, I either make it a matter of obedience and kindly command her to come, or I physically pick her up and make her come so I can soothe her physical pain, and point out the wrong reaction to it.

My job isn’t just to comfort, but to instruct in how to properly react to troubles. I remind her that’s what mommies are for, to go to when you need help. I have lovingly and laughingly told her this is my job, to kiss owies, and she needs to come to me.

Are we any different than children? When we are suffering are we rushing into the arms of our Father, or are we standing, arms crossed, aloof and irritated?

Instead of going for the comfort and strength we need, our hearts are irritated we’re in a position where we need comfort and strength.

The Lord knows our hearts better than we know the hearts of our children. This is why He had to use the imperative command to “Come, come now!” He sees our hearts, troubled and afar, and He has to lovingly command us to come into His welcoming arms. He commands us to come so that He can relief the burdens and give us rest.

That’s His job.

Do you hear Him calling, with love and longing?

Come!  Come unto Me!

What keeps you from throwing yourself into His arms when you are troubled?