Live Freely & Lightly

Hey SPV Fam!

This week I want to offer a brief follow up to the word I gave this past Sunday after our time of worship and communion. For those of you who weren't there I read the following passage from Matthew 11: 

"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.”

There is so much in these words of Jesus but a few things that I would emphasize are:
1) Life is meant to be enjoyed. If you find yourself getting stressed out and critical about every little thing then "get away with Jesus and learn from him." This may require many of us simplifying our lives a bit in order to make more room for the better, more cherished things. 
2) And even more specifically, if your faith journey is causing you anxiety then maybe, just maybe you're doing it wrong. If you find yourself feeling constant condemnation or that God is barking at you like a tyrant boss then trade in your "burned out on religion" for the "living freely and lightly the Jesus way". If you find yourself bothered by every theological idea that doesn't align with your own or have criticism for every other song sung in church then please pursue the real rest that Jesus is offering us all. The unforced rhythms of grace and real rest that Jesus offers is so much greater than the alternative, not to mention the fact that life is just too dang short to live it out finding fault with everything and being stressed all the time. 


Much love to you all,
Pastor Chris