"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus Christ is calling. He is calling you and me. He is calling everybody. His promise is to give us rest. The rest that Jesus promises is complete and all-encompassing. It is a refreshing rest that brings recovery of every good thing that had been lost. It is a rest that offers respite from whatever makes life difficult or unbearable for you. It is a rest that relieves from all kinds of weariness, whether it is of the spirit, the soul, or the body. It is a rest that brings complete peace of mind, tranquility to the soul and health to the body. And of course, it is a rest from the burden of sin.
Notice first, the universality of the call. The call is not discriminatory. It is to everyone who needs rest or relief. Would you be free from the burden of sin, then give heed to Christ's invitation. Notice that there is no special qualification to answer the call. You don't need money, education or anything else to answer the call. You are to come just as you are. And you are to come personally. For, although the invitation is to all, we must come individually, personally trusting on the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is personal; rest is inwardly personal. Two people may be in the same place under the same circumstance, yet one is at peace and the other is not.
Notice also that in coming to Jesus Christ, there is no place for a middleman or intermediary. You don't need to rent anyone to speak to Christ on your behalf. Everyone of us has direct access to Jesus Christ. In coming to Christ, no one, race or group of people have an advantage over the other because there is no partiality with our God. The Bible, in our passage for further reading, says that the invitation and the attendant "promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).
Notice the expected aftermath of the call. It is rest for your soul. In this regard also, I want you to take note of the certainty of what comes to you when you answer Christ's invitation. Jesus didnt say He will try to work out some rest for you. He is not hoping that you will have some rest when you come to Him. Jesus speaks so definitively and with such certainty, clarity and commanding authority that could only proceed from divinity. O, that the world may know that it is God who, having taken on human nature, and knowing our critical need for rest that says when you come, "I will give you rest".
In coming to Jesus Christ, we must first acknowledge the fact that we need rest and that we cannot procure this rest by our own human efforts, neither can we obtain it from any other person. No philosophy, organisation or association can give us rest; not even religion can furnish rest to the human soul. In any case, no one else but Jesus Christ has promised us rest; none other can be trusted to give us rest. Therefore, it is to Him that we must go. We must also come to Him through repentance from the sin nature that has robbed mankind of rest. Finally, we come to Jesus Christ by calling on His name, for it is written, "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). Call on His name today, and you shall find rest for your soul.
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