Come!

10.27.19 Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A few weeks ago we went to Minnesota to see my son play football. We stayed at my sister-in-law’s house in Madison after about a seven or eight hour drive. When you invite company over, you realize that it takes work. You have to figure out how many people are coming and how long they are staying for. You also consider how much food you are going to prepare. Some people are easier to prepare for than others. Some have allergies that restrict the food they can eat. Some might not like animals. Some might not be able to do stairs. You have to take all of this into account before you invite them over. How much work are you willing to do?

What about when someone asks you to come with them to do something? You also have to consider where they are going and what they want you to do. I was invited to a Michigan State game a few years ago. The ticket was free, but the parking and the gas wasn’t. I had to consider, “Is this worth the trip?” They were undefeated up to that point that year. I went, and I’m glad I did.

Most of you have been invited to this our Welcome Home Sunday. We wanted ALL of our members to come to church today. It took some work to get the invites out and prepare for the Fall Festival. It’s rather fitting that in today’s text, Jesus says “Come to me.” Think about that invite on this Welcome Home Sunday. Consider WHO is asking us to come, HOW LONG it will take, WHERE he is taking us, WHAT he is asking us to do, and WHY?

Jesus wants EVERYONE to be saved, but in this text He doesn’t seem to want EVERYONE to come. He only wants certain kind of people - the WEARY and BURDENED. He doesn’t ask the rich or the wealthy or the energetic or the happy-go-lucky. He exclusively asks only for the weary and burdened: the two go together - it’s an invite to people who are weary because of carrying a burden.

It’s a neat thing that Jesus doesn’t limit it to a certain type of burden or weariness. It can be any kind. You can be weary of working so hard at your job. You can be weary of being sick. You can be weary of living because every part in your body aches. You can be weary because you are sick and tired of arguing with your spouse or your parents or your children. You can be weary of everyone asking you for help. ANYONE who is weary is told to come. You can be weary of having everyone attacking you for one thing or another.

A woman at the well in Samaria who had led a very promiscuous life - she was in and out of relationships. She would be the last one you would think would settle down and want to come to Jesus. Yet when Jesus spoke to her, He saw that she was tired of her broken relationships. She was almost ready for rest, but she didn’t realize it. So He spoke to her about her lifestyle and welcomed her to come to Him.

Why doesn’t He ask for the healthy and the energetic and the successful? It isn’t that He doesn’t want them, it’s just that they don’t want what he has to offer anyway. They don’t want to rest. It reminds me of when my children were younger. When you said the word “nap” they treated it as torture! They would run and hide. When we had our first child I tried to barter with him. I’ll read this one book, then it’s time to sleep - no complaining! “Ok! Yes, yes,” he would say. But then when I finished the book, he would howl and howl. I soon realized that I couldn’t reason with him at bedtime. I just had to force him to lay down.

Who are those who don’t want to come to Jesus? Those who don’t think they need a nap. Those who are too busy to rest. Everything is going well for them. They’re healthy. They’re successful. Their business is going well. Their children are successful. They are happy in life and active - very active. They have work to do. They have places to visit. It isn’t really that Jesus doesn’t want them - He just knows that they don’t want to come to Him. They would consider it boring and a waste of time. Which kind of a sinner are you? Are you someone who realizes that you need rest? Or are you someone that doesn’t have time for rest?