 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Jesus Offers Rest to the Weary |
2008-03-31 |
|
|
Have you ever looked forward to meeting a deadline or achieving a goal with the hope of being able to rest when you get there, only to find that rest doesn’t happen? New deadlines replace the one you just met. You have to work to maintain the goals you have achieved, or they will disappear. You struggle to the top of that hill, only to find steeper hills beyond. Then there are the normal everyday tasks that never go away. You wash the dishes, but the sink fills up with more dishes to wash. You mow the lawn, but the grass needs to be cut again within a week or two. You pay the bills, but the mail brings more bills that need to be paid. There is not enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done. We can always use more time, more energy, more money, more ability. We are afraid that what we have is not enough, because it so often doesn't seem to be enough.
This is proving to be a stressful time of year for our family, and perhaps for yours as well. We just finished Lent and Easter, but there are still services to plan and important events to prepare for, including Confirmation, the prom, and graduation to name a few. April is always a challenge because it is tax time. We pay our taxes quarterly, but the first two payments of the year are only two months apart in April and June, which makes finances and cash flow very tight! Our oldest child will be going off to college in the Fall, and that is a source of some anxiety. On top of all of that, I feel more aches and pains as my body gets older and less able to do what it could five or ten years ago!
This is all part of the human condition. We are all in the same boat. The reason for all of this is Sin. The story of Adam and Eve in the Bible tells us that because of sin, life is now a story of unending toil and suffering and sorrow and ultimate death. Our struggles are a constant reminder of that fact. But life is not a hopeless tragedy. Christmas is the celebration of "God with us", and that God who joins us in this flesh and blood and toil and sorrow even joins us in death. Easter is the celebration that God is stronger than death, because He raised the crucified Jesus from the dead. The power of sin that had reigned since Adam and Eve is destroyed. Existence has a purpose, and a happy ending. Our relationship with God has been restored, and our work in this life is to serve Him and our neighbor. When our work is done, we have the promise of eternal rest in Heaven through Christ our savior.
Does the grass no longer need to be cut? Do my taxes no longer need to be paid? Do the aches and pains of my aging body suddenly disappear? No. But I know that the Lord provides what I need, and that He will sustain me in my weariness and give me rest along the way until he welcomes me home at last. Jesus promises, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I can only respond by saying "Thank you" and "Amen"!
|
|
|
|
Summer: starting Memorial Day Weekend
9:00 am Worship Service KMSD Broadcast
10:00 am Coffee and Fellowship
WOW (Worship on Wednesday) 6:30 pm
Winter: starting after Labor Day
8:30 am Worship Service KMSD Broadcast
9:35 am Educational Hour
9:35 am Coffee and Fellowship
10:45 am Worship Service
WOW (Worship on Wednesday) 6:30 pm |
Click Here
401 South Flynn Drive
Milbank SD 57252
605.432.5566 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
