This is God’s message to us? “I’m offering rest. Partner with me, and you’ll find it.”
Jesus offers rest because the way of living that Jesus gives us is deeply restful.
We all live for something. This “yoke” talk is about taking the burden of whatever it is I’m living for, and trading it in. His yoke is lighter, He says.
I can confirm this. I sometimes feel the pressure to have a Big Vision and accomplish some Big Thing or be More Significant and you know what? It’s a lot of stress. Our culture loves Big Visions and Plans and Statements and so forth. But our culture is also acutely anxious and exhausted and angry.
So why take this pilgrimage?
Because, while “It is finished,” He is not. His work on the Cross was perfect. Complete. Absolute. And because of it and through it, He continues working in and through us. The Cross is the singular basis of Christ’s total defeat of satan and his kingdom. satan had no response then and has none now. There’s nothing he can do about it. his defeat was complete, everlasting, and irrevocable. And while satan can’t change what happened on that Friday, he has been working ever since to hide what happened there. To obscure the work of the Cross. To avert our eyes. This is why Paul told the Galatians they’d been “bewitched.” Even though they were Spirit-filled eyewitnesses to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and God was actively doing miracles in their church, they’d taken their eyes off the Cross. Some power of darkness obscured the work of the Cross and they were focused on something else.
This collection on apologetics departs from the traditional objection-handling approach to defending our faith. Whether we’re journeying with a former Muslim, or looking through the lens of a filmmaker, or talking about a classic Christian book, or watching a discussion amongst avowed nonbelievers, these studies deliver intriguing perspectives, compelling arguments, and inspiration to improve upon our traditional approach to defending our faith.