.svg)
Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
The greatest sickness of our time is the neglect of the Soul. When we don’t take care of our soul, it affects every other aspect of our life, our relationships, our health, our sense of well-being and purpose in life. No matter how good our life might seem to be on the outside, it is rotting from the inside. The burdens of life become too great to bear and this results in frustration, violence, wickedness and moral decay.
The only appropriate remedy for our Soul is found in Jesus Christ. He offers general and free invitations to everybody by saying: “Come to Me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Jesus invites you personally because he dearly loves you and cares for you. His love for you made him to bear the shame and the pain to die on the Cross for your salvation. Rest for our souls can only be found through our faith, through our relationship with Jesus. There is no pill that provides rest for the soul. God created our souls to be restless until they find their rest in God.
The invitation from Jesus is for all of us who have grown weary, those of us who are carrying heavy burdens of poor health, burden of frustrations, burden of loneliness, burden of worries, burdens of hate, burdens of immoral and unethical behaviors, and long for true rest for our souls. The Lord Jesus says, we take his yoke upon us and learn from him. A yoke is: “a wooden cross piece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull.” This wooden cross piece helps the two animals to pull together. Jesus invites us to come and be yoked with him so that he pulls with us our burdens. He says his yoke is easy and well-fitting. The Lord also invites us to learn from him in order to find rest for our souls. We learn from him his humility, his commitment to do the father’s will, his sinless life and his biblical knowledge to defeat the cunning strategies of the devil. He proved that true joy, peace and rest does not come as a result of successful life, rich family background or by satisfying our human desires, but by obeying and fiving according to the written word of God. His life was difficult, but his soul was always at rest. He was always at peace in this world. And he wants to teach us how to have that same peace.
He extends a divine invitation to us all and says: ‘’ I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come …. (Revelation 3:20). I invite you to come to Jesus today and open the door of your heart to him in order to find rest for your soul. Amen.
The Most Rev Dr Justin Badi Arama
Archbishop and Primate of the
Episcopal Church of South Sudan, and
Chairman of the GSFA Steering Committee
