Throwing God's Weight Around

Spirituality Column #210
November 16, 2010
Current in Carmel - Current in Westfield - Current in Noblesville
(Indianapolis north suburban home newspapers)

Throwing God’s Weight Around
By Bob Walters

“My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:30)

That is Jesus talking to the Galileans about resting their souls in Him. Jesus isn’t saying “take Me lightly.” Jesus is saying that since God the Father Almighty and Creator of All Things has committed all things to Him (11:27) – think about it – the smartest play is to take Jesus very, very seriously.

Jesus is saying – to the weak, the weary, the beat down, the sinners – that He is the answer to all questions, provides the strength to face all problems, and shows us with humility and gentleness that our faith is safe with Him.

Thankfully, most of us enjoy an occasional earthly success when we feel upbeat instead of beat down. Jesus is telling us that in Him, our own joy can be a permanent condition, not an occasional symptom.

This good news follows some really bad news in verse 20 when Jesus denounces the cities that heard Him teach but did not repent. “Woe to them,” He says.

There was a long period when I was not secure in my faith in Jesus Christ, but there was never a time as a church slacker, agnostic or whatever (don’t know if you can relate) that I would have wanted to bear the weight – with the certainty of having heard it from Jesus Himself – of Jesus the Son of God denouncing me.

“Woe to Bob …” Yikes.

That weight, the weight of God, is more than we can imagine. Jesus Christ on the Cross is what makes that weight bearable.

And you know, God throws His weight around. God’s weight, in fact, is an almost perfect way to describe God’s Glory. When God appears, his weight makes the earth quake. We see it over and over in the Bible.

Life being the surprising banquet it is, I found myself in Dallas, Tex., on a recent Sunday morning sitting with my elder son Eric in Northway Village Church, listening to Matt Chandler preach an engaging, convicting, 50-minute-that-seemed-like-20-minute sermon about God’s glory, weight, and reality.

Have we learned yet that God doesn’t flex His muscles for us, but for His own glory? Have we learned that the purpose, point and power of our own existence are to seek and understand the reality, weight and glory of God?

Only in Jesus Christ can we know it, bear it, and hopefully reflect it.

Walters (www.believerbob.blogspot.com, email rlwcom@aol.com) urges you to pray for Chandler, his family and the 10,000 or so weekly “Village” attendees. Matt is battling brain cancer.