[Reflection] Matthew 19:28
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
To say we live in times of confusion is putting it mildly. Seems like everything from gender roles to foreign policy is under scrutiny and comment. It’s tiring sorting through all the conflicting opinions — especially when searching for the right way to do something.
My Bible’s footnotes say this verse refers to those people laboring under the laws imposed by the priesthood of the time. Because of these rules, people were trying desperately to live up to a near-impossible standard of perfection, one that didn’t match what God had in mind when He set out his covenant with people.
How many times do we do the same thing? We allow ourselves to be ruled by the way we see ourselves, which is in part formed by how others say they perceive us. We strive to fulfill people’s expectations, to make ourselves over into the way they see us — to be all things to all people. In the end, we become fragmented personalities, a hollow shell without any substance.
Jesus offers us an alternative from all this confusion — rest from trying to live up to the way others see us. So take a deep breath, and relax. Only one opinion really matters, that of our Father in heaven, who loves us, and will keep his eye on us, until we emerge victorious.
