lay down your burdens

I think we all live with the burden of trying to prove to ourselves and our world that we are worth loving.  Or at least I know I do.  It is a little different, I suppose, for guys and girls, but we all live with a gnawing sense that we are just not enough.  A wise man once said that the deepest question of every man's heart is "Do I have what it takes?"  And the deepest question of every woman's heart is "Am I worth being pursued?"  I can't speak for the ladies, but I can say that his description of a man's heart is dead on.  Thus, for us guys anyway, it is very easy to measure the answer to that question by how well we perform (scores, records, achievements, accomplishments, comparisons, stats, measurements, bank accounts, etc.); and to think that our value is determined by what we do--and particularly how well we do it.  It is an extraordinarily heavy burden to bear.

But actually, nothing could be further from the truth.  Our value as a human being (mine and yours) does not depend on how good of a golfer, or a businessman, or a minister, or a Young Life leader we are--or how good of an anything we are for that matter--but is determined by the One who made us and loves us dearly.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Come to me and let me be the One that determines your value and your worth.  Do not carry that burden alone, it will wear you out.  Your worth and your value cannot be determined by what you do, or what you achieve, but only by the value given to you by me--the One who made you and loves you.

Jesus longs for us to come.  He longs for us to join (yoke) ourselves to him, to lay down our burdens, and to let him be the one that shows us how incredibly valuable and loved we really are.

Thanks be to God!