Of Our Labor

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

How often we have read this passage and find Jesus inviting those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him for rest. Yet, I wonder… what labor? What is being carried that is so heavy? I suppose some are encouraged in this passage who labor against a prolonged illness. Others, facing the loss of their jobs, homes, or other valued personal property… find those losses extremely trying, and of great weight; especially if you’re married and have children. I remember nights when I heard my mother cry when she didn’t know where she would get the money to make the next house payment or buy groceries. Yes, we all labor under such burdens — from empty wallets and cupboards to loneliness. I’m certainly not suggesting that Jesus would refuse any who suffered under illness or poverty or loneliness. No, He would not turn away any whom the Father brought to Him for peace and rest, but I believe there is more to this statement about the nature of the labor and the burden people carry. I’m convinced the labor that Jesus specifically spoke of in this passage is directed towards the labor and burden we carry within ourselves… as attested by our consciences… men and women heavy laden with guilt and shame… so overwrought as they could actually find themselves wishing they were never born.

Indeed, I would say it’s because of the lack of conviction of our sin and transgressions and the shallowness of our guilt and shame that we don’t look to Him to find true peace and rest. Oh, we may look to Him for other reasons but not for the wounds and stripes that our sin brought to our Savior! Men of great faith and calling were men who first saw and labored under the weight of their sin and guilt. Carrying such a burden, they wondered, ‘How could anyone ever forgive me! Let alone a righteous and holy God?’ For decades now, Americans have lived being told to speak or hear anything negative — such as sinful behavior — is harmful to our self-esteem. Secular psychologists and counselors teach we must not feel guilt. It is clearly wrong. Mankind has long passed such old-fashioned provincial laws and ethics. Then, everyday, we hear there is no God; thus, there is no danger of eternal judgment. As a result, we live as a nation of victims…  without accountability, or minimally, the conviction to address how our sin has victimized others. Consequently, we don’t labor under an ever increasing and seemingly hostile conscience; which God gave every soul to forewarn us of what stands at the far door and final exit.

In sum, if we wonder why it is many Christians today continue to willfully live in sin… barely conscious of their conduct, I would ask them to prayerfully consider the nature of the labor and what burden that led them to seek His rest. If their labor and burden was not knowing and understanding the weight of their sin — knowing that the Son of God suffered an ignominious and heinous death on the cross for them — and it was that which brought them to desperately seek His forgiveness, then what they sought was a cure for a common labor and burden; such as healing, a job or prosperity. Consider this: Even though Lazarus was raised from the dead, he also returned to its grip. Given that sin brought all to death, it is only by recognizing and repenting of its labor-heavy burden that we can find in Christ Jesus our promised rest. The greater the acknowledgment of the depths of our sin and its burden, the higher and louder our voices will rise to sing His praise and glory! But this is only the beginning. The more we grow in Christ, we will grow to hate sin, and through confession, seek His daily cleansing. In that, the yoke of what remains of our flesh is light as we realize that His blood was sufficient to cover all of our sins… past, present and future.