Give Your Burdens to Christ (October 4, 2023)

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Life is a rich blessing from a gracious God of love! Yet, as we all know, it can be quite burdensome. There are many contributors to the loads we bear. As much as we love them, our families and friends can place some rather weighty demands on our time and energy. Adding to the encumbrances of life are the loads imposed by our jobs or schooling, upkeep of our health, maintenance of our property, civic and social involvements, and life’s many other obligations and responsibilities. As if that’s not enough, sometimes we put pressure on ourselves unnecessarily. Among these needless self-imposed burdens is the baggage we lug around from the past, refusing to let go of feelings of guilt for confessed sins that God has already forgiven.

For Christians, there is divine relief! We don’t have to bear life’s burdens on our own frail shoulders. Jesus welcomes believers to release this heavy freight and tap into His divine power. The greatest burden that Christ shouldered for everyone was suffered for our sakes on a rugged old cross erected on a hill outside Jerusalem two thousand years ago. Our Almighty Burden Bearer took on the crushing weight of the sins of all of humanity and died by crucifixion to relieve us of a burdensome debt that we could never pay. Jesus’ perfect sacrifice gives everyone who trusts in Him for salvation the opportunity to receive God’s grace and His gift of everlasting life. Today, Jesus is asking us to humbly and trustingly let go of our burdens and rest in Him!

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)