Come unto me

Come unto me
St. Augustine wrote,
“I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are very wise and very beautiful; but I never read in either of them:  "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden."                                                                                                                                                  St Augustine

The full quote St. Augustin is noting comes from the book of Matthew. Jesus is speaking and he says,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.” 
                                                Matthew 11:28-30.
We live in a very demanding world. Our world particularly here in the west can be stressful life goes on twenty-four hours a day. Those in the corporate world are finding their employers are demanding more and more.
At the other end of society the poor are finding it hard to live. They are relying on food banks, and government handouts that are not enough to pay the rent, utilities and still put food on the table.
Even those that have jobs, jobs that pay minimum or just above minimum wage are having trouble making ends meet.
And that’s just in the richest countries in the world.
In third world, Africa, the middle east central and south America people are struggling just to live from day to day. Thousands are dying due to starvation and illnesses, not even counting the Ebola and other epidemics.
Terrorism and open war is affecting millions around the world.
Global society just doesn’t seem to have rest.
Still there is rest amid the chaos of world events. That rest comes from faith in Jesus Christ.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.”  He calls.
I know it’s hard to quote the above scripture to someone who’s hungry and suffering but it is true.
Christian organizations all over the world today are doing their best to provide the necessities of life to all people Christian or not. They do it in the name of the Lord without asking the person to convert to Christianity.
Even the small church I attend with just twenty-five persons does what it can to help the poor. We sent as much money as we can to two orphanages in India.
Christianity is very much a faith of deeds,
The apostle James said,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”  
                                    James 2:14-18.
Francis of Assisi stated the true Christian lifestyle when he said,
“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words.” 
                                                                                              Francis of Assisi.
We as Christians can find rest in Christ no matter the circumstances we live in. We know that despite what happens in this world God will give us strength to go through each day. That we will have that inward peace that cannot be taken away from us.
It is something we wish the whole world would experience and which the whole world can experience if they would only turn and accept Christ by faith into their lives.
Think about it.