Religion Complicates What God Made Simple

From Pete Wilson:

I continue to be amazed at how it always seems that religion complicates what God has made simple. I was reading in Matthew and was reminded at how often Jesus tried to expose the complexities of religion.

Matthew 23:1-4 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.

I grew up in a system of religion that was very similar to this. The “demands” often left me feeling  crushed and wondering if God could ever accept and love me.  I discovered over time that religion and the rules that accompanied it really only produced two things: defeat, if you were honest, and hypocrisy, if you were not.

I spent years in hypocrisy which was fueled by my fear that I wasn’t “good enough.” I’ll be forever grateful that I eventually exchanged that system of religion in for a story of redemption. I’ll be forever grateful for discovering the meaning behind these beautiful words of Jesus…

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

I love those words “and you will find rest for your souls.” The kind of rest that many of us need cannot be found by taking a nap for we are exhausted at the soul level. We need the kind of rest that only Jesus can bring.

Tired of trying? Need some rest?