A Devotional
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11: 28
As we may know the ‘give and take’ principle is a frequently used strategy in negotiation
especially in between different opposing political parties or in international diplomacy. In order
to take what we desire from someone or some party, we need to give up some part of what we
have. In such selfish ways our world operates, receiving is always dependent on giving
something up. There is no free gift in diplomacy without proper calculation of the return.
When Christ calls us to come to Him, it is not because He has something He wants to receive
from us or because we have something He does not have that He is attracted to. He does not seek
to exploit our resources by using the principle of ‘give and take’, as the selfish politicians of our
world do. In short, when He says, “Come to Me,” He is not taking from us the good things He
needs for Himself, but He is inviting us to all the good things we need for free. He is not saying,
“Come to Me, all you who have every good thing or all you who are strong,” but, He rather is
saying, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden.” Did you notice the difference?
My friends, our world is in turmoil right now. We hear more bad news than we can bear. War is
everywhere, and every news outlet is talking about war. Many families have lost their peace
because they have stopped resting on Christ and are focusing on things of this world. Loneliness
is so rampant because individualism has taken our social lifestyle we once highly cherished. It
seems like everything is out of our control. Even Christian marriages are breaking up quickly, the
devil is so aggressive and his lies are so prevalent. While we are in such dire condition, with his
lies, the devil often comes very close to our ears and whispers saying, “you can overcome it on
your own without seeking the help from God.” Because we admit his lies, when his lies are
revealed and when we fail, it will be so hard for us to admit our failure. So our peace has been
taken away from us before we know it. We often have been burdened with problems we cannot
bear.
Of course, because we live in the end times, we are living in a time of great uncertainty. Indeed,
we are confused. For us everything seems so doomed. But the good news is what is impossible
with us is possible with God. Jesus, our Only Hope, is calling us to come to Him with all our
burdens. He asked us to give our burdens to Him and, in exchange, He promised to us to give His
peace. He promised to us that He will give us rest. So why can’t we just give our burdens to the
Lord and get from Him perfect rest instead? Alleluia. Christ has won victory over all our
problems, over all our sins, over all our sorrows, death, devil and hell. Rejoice for His victory is
yours! Amen!!
-Rev. Dr. Alemu Ermias Katiso, Pastor