And you will find Rest
Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
The way of Atlas or Jesus
A story is told by a New York pastor who would invite those who came to him when wrestling with decisions or challenging circumstances to take a walk a few minutes from his office to the Rockefeller Centre on Fifth Avenue.
In front of the building stood a statue of the Ancient Greek God Atlas holding up the world. Gazing up at the at the muscular frame of the Greek god tasked with carrying the weight of the earth upon his shoulders.
Then the pastor would invite his companion across the street to St Patrick’s Cathedral. Tucked behind the altar greeting both pastor and said companion was a statue of the infant Jesus, holding the world in his left hand.
What the pastor wanted to illustrate was the two ways that we can choose to live, either under the burden of carrying the world and circumstances on our shoulders and straining to control what we cannot in both our own lives or others or to lay it all at the feet of Jesus who holds our circumstances and those of the world in the palm of his hand.[1]
God has been frequently reminding me of these two images and the choice that we face in our lives when confronted with difficult circumstances or fears that may threaten to engulf us or witnessing the shocking injustice and evil going on in parts of this world. We feel so out of control and small in these moments or at least I know I do. Moreover, when these moments come, I’m sometimes tempted to question where God is in tough circumstances faced by me or someone else and if he really is or remains that good. You too may be able to relate dear reader but when we do this, we cast a net of doubt over God’s faithfulness and can try to take control, fix or carry the situation ourselves.
If chosen, the path to strain under the weight of the world and our problems in our own strength can lead us to be overwhelmed, exhausted, even burnt out and captive to fear. When the disciples panicked as a storm threatened to topple the boat and drown them Jesus was sleeping. They felt abandoned and thought Jesus didn’t even care about their safety!
By contrast, Jesus demonstrates how God controls the heavens and the earth and everything in it and his umbrella of care and protection never leaves us:
A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
Mark 4: 35-40 (NIV)
I can definitely relate to the disciples’ reaction. We can easily feel in a midst of a storm that God is not in control, but Jesus provides us with assurance that he is. He will chart a course through the storms of your a life and mine, change your perspective so that he is your focus and not the storm and at one command from him, silence the wind and the waves threatening to engulf you. This is our saviour!
Similarly, Jesus’ response to Martha’s despair and grief that had He not come sooner to Bethany to the aid of her brother Lazarus before he died was to point her to his divine sovereignty over a situation that appeared humanly impossible to change and to reassure her that his word as the final word has the power to change circumstances and call forth what is not:
“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again. Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:21-25 (NIV)
He is THE resurrection and THE life. If we consider this truth, what else can challenge or even approach our loving, almighty saviour? Instead of falling under the weight of our burdens, Jesus offers us instead a daily invitation to turn our eyes towards him and behold him who holds the world in his hand and holds you and me and every care that we may harbour. His invitation is one of a return to rest, an easy yoke and light burden through remembrance and worship of who he is as the statue of Christ in the pastor’s story above represents: the creator and sustainer of the earth with command over and to calm every literal and metaphorical storm that darkens our lives and those around us; our faithful companion who never leaves us and who is a constant source of protection. Amen
[1] See Bruce Larson, Believe and Belong for the full story.
Abba's Dearly Beloved 