Hold These Two in Tension
Jesus has a beautiful invitation to his followers: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
I love this.
And so it jars me to get to Paul, who tells Timothy, "The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules."
Paul compares the walk of faith to soldiers going to battle (not on leave) and to athletes competing.
Truthfully? I don't want to have to be that intense. I prefer the rest, the yoke shared with Jesus.
But the record of Scripture is that the hardships of battle, the athletic endurance . . . this, too, is part of my walk.
I don't know that I fully understand how to hold this in tension. I suspect that there are both times of harder running and times of rest, and that maybe those don't always occur simultaneously. Or maybe even the hardships of battle, with Jesus, are more restful than daily life without Jesus. I'm not sure.
But I take comfort that both the rest and the running are part of the life of following Jesus.
So whether you are more feeling like life if a battle, or more feeling like life is restful . . . congratulations! You are walking by faith. Carry on.
More to come.
Love,
Amy Lykosh
John and Sarita's oldest daughter
Second-generation Sonlighter
Homeschooling mom to five
P.S. I love reading your responses, and, please know, even if I don't respond, I read each one. If you have something on your heart or mind that you would like me to write about, would you let me know? As we walk this road together, I count it a privilege to have an insight in your life and what you are thinking about.
