"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

      Have you ever met one of those unhappy people who is never pleased? No matter what you do for them---they have a complaint. My old nursing mentor used to say: "They wouldn't be happy with Jesus on a mule." A brief check of the Gospels confirms this as fact. Most of these people are unhappy for one of three reasons. They are greedy and think their complaints will get them more; they are self-absorbed or they are perfectionists (which, to my thinking, is a polite way of saying self-absorbed). Nothing is ever right or good enough to suit them. Be of good cheer, you are not alone. Jesus dealt with these people too.

      "But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.'"

      The religious leaders of His day were an unhappy sort--and for good reason; they were tired all the time. When Jesus called to those that labored and were heavy laden, He was not referring to the farmer and the workingman. He was speaking to those, of all walks, who lived under the constant burden of the Law.

      The Law and commandment of God called upon men to: "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God."

      The rules for personal holiness were long and complicated. Additionally, the teachings of the great rabbis carried the weight of law. Every minute detail of life and conduct was wrapped up in taste not; touch not; handle not. The Pharisees were not the only ones so afraid of violating the Law that they forgot how to live. Neither were they the only ones who found their own ways around the spirit of the Law. They were simply the best at it--and proud of it too.

      As a result the Pharisees were a dysthymic lot. The sad part is, they are no different from Christians of all ages who wield the Bible as "Law". Yes, the Bible is the Word of God. So too was the Law and the Prophets. In fact, agreement and quotation from the Law and the Prophets was a criteria for inclusion in New Testament canon.

      Christianity lived as according to a law is a dried, heavy burden to bear. And that is what the Church has offered in a great many cases. The world doesn't need this--it already has it. Even without the Law, we feel the weight of sin pressing on us. (That is why great moral teachers are irrelevant.) As a sinner, I was as far from the Law as Saul the Pharisee was close to it, nevertheless, I felt the same burden.

      "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do... O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

      The body of the Law was no less deadly than the Roman practice of strapping a dead body to the back of the condemned to wear until he too was dead. Legislative law produces only spiritual death. It is a heavy burden to bear. That is why the scriptures says:

      "...the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

      Jesus said: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

      In Christ, you may lay down all your labors. He is the fulfillment of the Law and though you are His enemy, He offers peace through mercy and grace. There is no righteous display required; no works to do; no merit needed. Come, by grace, and rest.

      "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." And it begins with the power of forgiveness. Grace will roll the burden of sin and of the Law from off your shoulders. Grace offers the life of Christ not just as a long ago sacrifice, but as a powerful reality; "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory..."

      Christianity is not performance based; it is grace based. But it is not without a yoke of its own. The difference is: "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." His life; His faith; His Spirit living in you; that's the yoke of Christ. It is born in a moment. It takes a lifetime to grow. It lasts an eternity. Yet for all that, the yoke of Jesus has just two commands.

      "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
      And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."