Come, and I Will Give You Rest

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

Are there sweeter words to the single mother?

Come All Who Labor & Are Burdened

With the burdens and pressure on single parent families, with the worry about how to pay the bills and keep up with they neighborhood, with the concern about how our children will turn out and the hostile anger of ex-spouses, with the exhaustion and overwhelming responsibility of it all seeming to come down to you and you alone, with all this and more are there any more comforting words to the single mom than quite simply, “Come.”

Come, All Who Labor & Are Burdened, And I Will Give You Rest.

Jesus does not say, “Come, when you’ve finished the dishes…”

or “Come, after the kids’ homework is done…”

or “Shower first and then…and when you’re done come.”

No, Jesus simply says, “Come…and I will give you rest”

Come – single parents who labor endlessly with few rewards. Come – bring your burdens and pressures. Come – bring the bills you cannot pay. Come – bring your concern about those Loved children and hostile ex-spouses. Come – bring the exhaustion and responsibility and aloneness.

Come…

And I will give you rest.

Jesus Christ

Rest.

In some Bibles it says, “Peace.”

Come, and Jesus will give you rest and peace.

Rest and peace things that are in short supply in too many single parent households, but rest and peace are also in too short supply in intact, two-family households.

This entire world is caught up in getting ahead. We are always trying to do more, to be more, to have more.

But what are we giving up to get ahead at such grave costs?

Do our children really need that new electronic gadget or to play on yet another team or live in the best house or a ride in a new car or attend an ivy league school or anything else we think is so important?

It is not wrong to strive for the best, but it is wrong when getting ahead comes at the expense of what is needed.

The Trinity is the needed, the One and Only thing that truly matters.

What we need is not more material provision, but rest and peace.

Jesus IS peace.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

There are no sweeter words to a single mother, and they are words we must impart to our children as well. We do not need to supply our children with material gifts, but we need to lead them to Jesus. We need to teach them to recognize His name so that when He calls to them, when He says, “Come,” they will recognize His voice and receive a gift more precious than any we could provide.

They will receive the gift of rest and peace.

Please join me Wednesday as I look deeper into Sunday, July 6th’s Gospel reading from the book of Matthew 11:25-30.

God Bless…