07/22/2021
Pastor's Corner
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them”
Matthew 5: 17
Henry David Thoreau once wrote “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” Thoreau was say that our mad pursuit to have it all will only leave us full of anxiety and self-doubt. And in the end we take none of it to the grave, only a song. Trying to have it all and do it all will leave us weary and miserable. On the surface it might appear we have it all to-gether but appearances are often deceiving. Scratching be-neath that surface often leads to the truth. We are over-whelmed, overworked, irritable, and barely holding it together.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we have such a hard time asking for help? God does not expect or want us to do it all on our own. Jesus says “come to me all who are weary and you will find rest.” Jesus came to carry our burden and to make us right with God.
There is no more trivial pursuit then for a person to spend a lifetime trying to get right with God by their own ac-cord. Even Jesus warns us that our righteousness must sur-pass even that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law if we ever hope to enter the kingdom of heaven. No one try more to live perfectly holy lives more than those religious leaders. And yet even they came up far short.
It reminds me of the story of Sisyphus who was con-demned to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill only to watch it roll back down again. No matter how hard he tried he could never reach to top. The pursuit was folly or might I add “trivi-al.” If you want it all, first who must surrender it all to Jesus Christ. He will carry your burden and change your heart’s de-sires. You might just find out then that Jesus is your All in All.
Joel D. Thompson