Come to Jesus

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.    —Matthew 11:28

The Gospel might be described in one word, “Come.” Jesus invites all who are weary and weighed down with care to come to Him for rest. Jesus also says in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The cares and sorrows of this life steal our joy and burden our souls, but Jesus comes to give us abundant life: rest, peace, joy, and purpose.

Sadly and amazingly, we will do almost anything to find happiness in life except simply coming to Jesus. Oswald Chambers has said, “Isn’t it humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things about which we will not come to Jesus Christ. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words— “Come to Me….” In every dimension in which you are not real, you will argue or evade the issue altogether rather than come; you will go through sorrow rather than come” (My Utmost, October 8).

In the early days of my Christian life, I soon learned how people will evade and argue rather than come to Jesus. When I first began to witness and tell others my story of coming to Jesus Christ, I was surprised how quickly folks would justify their sin and argue why they did not need to come to Jesus. Almost immediately, they would give their criticism of the Church or some Christian and give their reason for refusing to come.

One lady comes to mind. I was working for a carpenter who was remodeling her kitchen. During a break she began to ask me about my life, and the subject of my dropping out of college came up. I told her my story how I asked Jesus to come into my life and to forgive me of my sins. I described the joy and peace I found in Him. I then asked her if she had found the joy and peace that Christ offers. Our conversation took a surprising turn into excuses and criticisms.

She immediately said that there was nothing wrong with owning and running a bar. I knew that her family ran one of the bars in my hometown, but I never mentioned or even hinted anything about it. It appears that she lived with a great deal of guilt for the family business. Instead of coming to Jesus, she made justification for her guilt.

She then gave me a long detailed story of how the local Methodist pastor acted poorly in her eyes in ministering to her dying father. The pastor would visit weekly to pray and give Holy Communion to her bedridden father. After each visit, her father secretly reminded her to give the pastor a monetary gift for visiting. One time, she withheld the money from the preacher, and the minister never came back. Because of this offense, she would never go to church and never come to Jesus.

I didn’t get to know this lady’s life any deeper. I don’t know the depth of her guilt and shame and any judgmental attitudes from others towards her family’s business. I also don’t know if her father died, the minister moved away, or why he never returned to visit. But I do know that I have seen this reaction toward the Gospel repeated many times by other folks. We justify, make excuses, and refuse to simply come to Jesus.

The Gospel message is for you and everyone who will come. Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” God loves you. Why don’t you come? No excuse or justification of sin is worth refusing Jesus’ invitation. Come!