Salvation Summaries

Come to Me

If you are a parent, you undoubtedly remember saying words similar to this when your son or daughter was about to take his/her first steps.  “Come to Daddy!” “Come to Mommy!”  You were there, with a camcorder (or phone) in one hand, and your other hand extended to catch the little toddler if he/she fell.  It was an exciting time for you, and maybe for your child too.

But imagine if, when you were just getting ready to hit the record button on your camcorder (or phone), your baby decided against walking. After all, crawling wasn’t so bad.  Imagine if she crossed her arms and shook her head to say “no” when you asked her to walk.  Imagine if he turned his head, and then crawled away.  You would be surprised and saddened, wouldn’t you?

You might be surprised to learn that many adults do the same thing today, but on a spiritual level.  In the Bible, Jesus tells others, and by extension us, to “Come to Me,” yet most of us don’t.  It’s not that we don’t understand these words; we’re simply unwilling to obey them.  After all, life here on earth, with me being the boss, isn’t so bad.

Jesus says “Come to Me,” or a variation of this, on several occasions.  We will review one of these occasions, as recorded in Matthew 11 (I’ve listed other verses, where He says this, at the end of this blog entry).

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.”

• Who are the weary and heavy burdened?  They are not people who have become physically exhausted from performing manual labor. Instead, these are people who have become spiritually exhausted. They seek not physical rest, but spiritual rest.  We see this in verse 29, which says “you will find rest for your souls.”  These people have tried, unsuccessfully, to obey all of the Jewish laws in an effort to have eternal life, and they’ve finally realized that they simply can’t do it.

• What is the “rest” Jesus refers to?  Rest is eternal life with Him.

• How do the people obtain this rest?  After realizing how many laws they have violated (or how much they have sinned), how they can never measure up to what God expects (complete obedience to all of His laws), and how they cannot receive eternal life on their own efforts, the only option left for them is to repent of their sinfulness and turn to the Lord, in complete dependence upon Him, for He is the only one who can give them spiritual rest.

• What is the “yoke” the people are to take?  The Bible talks about a person becoming “united” (or baptized) with Christ when that person becomes a believer in Him. A person is “yoked” with Christ when that person becomes a believer in Him.  He becomes your master, you become a willing slave. As His slave, you obey Him, you follow Him, and in turn, He will never let you go. While some might view this as a burden, it is actually liberating.  By giving your life to Christ, you are free to live as He intended you to.  You no longer have to live with guilt or shame, for He’s forgiven you of that.  You no longer have to worry about death, for He has given you eternal life.  You no longer have to live alone, for He will give you His Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ words, “Come to Me,” are an invitation from Him to receive eternal life.  Coming to Him means repenting of your sins, surrendering your life to Him (allowing Him to be your boss) and becoming completely dependent upon Him. Those who accept His invitation will become His disciple, and receive the rest He speaks of, which is eternal life in heaven. Those who don’t will go elsewhere.

Matthew 16:24-25   ²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  ²⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Matthew 19:14   ¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Matthew 19:21   ²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

John 5:39-40  These are the Scriptures that testify about me,  ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

John 6:37-38   ³⁷ All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

John 6:44   ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 7:37-38   ³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”