freely and lightly

My church, Crossroads, is going through the Strong Challenge. I have to admit that I haven't been putting as much time and effort in as I had planned. One of the challenges this week was to memorize a passage of scripture. There were a few choices given, though I'm sure you could just pick your own. Of the four, one really stuck out to me; it was Matthew 11:26-30.

These verses aren't new to me; I've read them several times before but they still seem to impact me. Maybe that's because I haven't really let the words sink into my heart. I'm not sure, but either way I've decided to tackle this passage and commit the words to memory.

I chose The Message version of the Bible because it seems so fresh and breathes new life into this passage: "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 to live freely and lightly."

Don't you just love that? I want to soak it all up. Yes, I'm worn out. Yes, I want you to show me how to take a real rest. I want to learn the unforced rhythms of grace. Show me how to live freely and lightly. Sign me up for that, Jesus.