What kind of Christian are you? (3)

“Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live.” Mt 11:30 TM Jesus said, “[The Pharisees] tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders” (Mt 23:4 NIV). They imposed rules that people couldn’t keep, and on the rare occasion when they could keep them it brought them no joy. Stephen Mosley writes: “Our morality calls out rather feebly. It whines from the corner of a sanctuary; it awkwardly interrupts pleasures; it mumbles excuses at parties; it shuffles along out of step and slightly behind the times…It’s often regarded by our secular contemporaries as a narrow, even trivial, pursuit…Tragically, conventional religious goodness manages to be both intimidating and unchallenging at the same time. Intimidating—because it may involve 101 different rules about so-called spirituality. Unchallenging—because we may exhaust ourselves trying to keep all these rules, yet never experience the true joy Jesus offers. That’s why people inside the church so often get weary. Conforming to such a religion is simply not a rewarding enough experience to fill the void in our hearts.” Have you grown weary of pursuing spiritual growth? Could it be you’ve been pursuing the wrong thing, or going at it the wrong way? If so, consider these words of Jesus: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn how to live freely and lightly” (Mt 11:28-30 TM).

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