You Are Invited…
It’s that time of year when it seems like every day there’s another Christmas event. There are school programs and banquets, there’s the Christmas Tea party, and on and on. Perhaps you love it all, or maybe you’d rather just stay at home in front of the fireplace and not have to make one more conversation at another get-together. No matter how you feel about holiday parties, you need to know that you have been invited to a very important celebration this Christmas that you don’t want to miss. This invitation is not meant to be a burden; it is meant to relieve your burden. Jesus himself has invited you, and here is how the invitation reads:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
This invitation is not inviting you to come to a place or to a party but to a person. Jesus is inviting you to come to Him. It’s easy to go to a party and have no meaningful interaction with the host or hostess, but this is not the kind of party Jesus has in mind. He wants to give you His full attention. He will not be in a rush. He wants to enjoy you. He wants you to enjoy Him. This invitation is far more than just a brief visit. He wants you to rest in Him, to truly enter in to all He is and all He has for you.
This invitation is addressed to all who are weary and carry heavy burdens. I have to admit that sometimes just thinking about Christmas makes me tired. It is not the buying and wrapping gifts that is so tiring to me, it’s deciding what to give to people.
As you think about the coming Christmas season, does it make you feel a little tired too? Are you weary of trying to figure out what to give all the people on your list, or weary of conflict in your family that makes the family get - togethers less than enjoyable? Are you weary of the burden of overcommitment or unrealistic expectations or maybe you’re weary of carrying the burden of a broken relationship?
Jesus has a gift He wants to give to you when you come to Him. He knows just what we need most this Christmas. He knows what will satisfy us and fit us perfectly even though we may not have thought to put it on our list. He knows all we need is real rest- not from our busy schedules, but for our souls. Only Jesus can give us real soul-rest.
How do we come to Jesus? How do we RSVP to Christ’s invitation? He says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” At first the yoke Christ wants to give you may sound like a burden. But the yoke of Jesus is what makes all the other burdens bearable. The yoke Jesus gives us connects us so closely to Him. He shares the load and bears our burdens. He wants to bear the weight of your burdens with His strong shoulders. Jesus wants to teach you what He is all about. How are you going to learn of Him? By leaning in to Him and allowing Him to refine you and experience Him? We learn of Him by listening to Him through His word, the Bible and by spending time alone with Him.
What will you choose this Christmas season? The stashes of wrapping paper, the overwhelming feeling of fixing one more dessert or will you choose Jesus with me? He’s waiting for you to come and find true ultimate rest for your soul. This Christmas season hear Jesus saying to you. “Come away from what is stressful and insignificant. Say no to what is empty so you can enter into what is eternal, essential, meaningful, and restful. Just come to me.”
Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and a grand entrance into 2021!
Coming to Him this Christmas,
Mary
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