Food for the Journey
A Personal
ARISE!
Rule of Life by Hannah Sandoval
I wonder, how many times have you heard the invitation that Jesus offers to his followers at the end of Matthew chapter 11? It’s the passage where Jesus says ‘come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.’ Perhaps, like me, you’ve heard these words so many times that you’ve become a little bit immune to them. What does it actually look like to come to Jesus and to receive the rest that he gives? When we come to Jesus, accepting him as our Saviour, we find rest and salvation in him once and for all. Jesus’ invitation can also refer to us coming to him every day of our lives: walking with him, receiving from him, allowing him to sustain us on our Christian journeys. I often find it helpful to read familiar passages of scripture in different translations so that I can hear the words afresh, and appreciate their meaning again. For this particular passage, I’ve found Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase in ‘The Message’, really useful. Verses 28-30 read: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.
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