sunday, may 29, was my first worship service away from immanuel. kim and i are worshiping at st. john's in orange throughout the summer. our timing was perfect as they were just beginning a new sermon series on the book of galatians called "freedom". as the preacher (former cui colleague rev. bob rossow) preached on chapter one, he focused on st. paul's warning to the galatians:
I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel. (1:6).
the "different gospel" being preached by the judaizers was that the gospel didn't truly set you free from all the obligations of the law. in order to be saved, you still had to keep a certain number of the old testament regulations, especially circumcision. st. paul was quick to pounce on such a teaching. even if you just introduce a little leaven, it can ruin the whole batch. if salvation is 99% God's doing, but 1% our doing, then we are preaching a different gospel and all is lost.
in the middle of his message, to my great surprise, rev. rossow quoted matthew 11:28-29. this is one of the main texts i have been meditating on as i begin my sabbatical. Jesus said:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
in the gospel alone do we find true rest. Jesus has done all the work for our salvation and there is nothing left for us to do. as i meditated upon this word, i found that my worth does not consist in what i do as a pastor. yes, i have dedicated my life to serving Jesus in full-time ministry, but that is not my true identity. i am God's son not because of what i do, but because of what Christ has done for me.
as i take a rest from my ministry this summer, Jesus is calling me to a greater rest; a Divine rest. He is calling me back to my identity as God's child, dearly loved and fully forgiven. before i was ever able to serve God, He "called me in the grace of Christ" through my baptism. before i ever preached a sermon, the Word of Life spoke to me and enlightened my heart and mind. before i ever fed the hungry, visited the sick, or comforted the grieving, my Heavenly Father provided for me such things and so much more. He has provided me eternal life.
this, then, is how rest begins: in rediscovering your identity through the gospel. how about you? is your identity caught up in what you do? have you made God's love for you even 1% conditional on how you keep the law? are you burdened over past sins, unable to find true forgiveness and freedom?
hear again Jesus' invitation to you: "come unto me..."