Hope
“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.
Throughout the centuries there have been many philosophers. Many men have stood up and said “I know the way to a better life.” none have really succeeded. We only have to look at Communism to see a classic example of how a philosophy fails.
Marx, Lenin even Hitler envisioned a utopia where all were equal and happy. Sadly in practice it fell apart causing misery for many.
It’s easy to put together nice words and concepts that seem to offer a good life but in practice it seldom works.
T. H. White wrote,
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos.
But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ.
Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people.
But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into storm troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.”
T. H. White, The Once and Future King
Jesus said,
“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.
Jesus did not impose His beliefs on anyone. He told his disciples clearly,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20.
Jesus told his disciple to make disciple not by force but by presenting the gospel to all men and letting them make up their minds for themselves.
Within the teachings of Jesus and the apostles is not only the way to heaven but the secret of a content life.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus said.
Both I and other Christians can tell you that those words are true. No matter the situation you are in. Knowing Christ as your personal Saviour. Having Christ in your life gives you a peace that is hard to describe.
In my sixty plus years on this earth I have been through a lot. I have had life threatening illnesses and other thing that have gone wrong, but though it all I have had a peace that God is with me. That he was and is there for me.
There is a famous writing called Foot prints in the sand. I don’t know who wrote it but it speaks to what I mean. It states,
“One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life:
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. “LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.”
The LORD replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
I can honestly say that having Jesus in my life has given me peace through both the good times and times of trials.
Asking Jesus to come into your life is something I would ask anyone reading this to consider.
Letting Jesus be Lord of my life is the best decision I have ever made. Why not consider making him Lord of your life.
Please think about it.
“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.
Throughout the centuries there have been many philosophers. Many men have stood up and said “I know the way to a better life.” none have really succeeded. We only have to look at Communism to see a classic example of how a philosophy fails.
Marx, Lenin even Hitler envisioned a utopia where all were equal and happy. Sadly in practice it fell apart causing misery for many.
It’s easy to put together nice words and concepts that seem to offer a good life but in practice it seldom works.
T. H. White wrote,
“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was the chap to make it work. He tried to impose his reformation by the sword, and plunged the civilized world into misery and chaos.
But the thing which this fellow had overlooked, my friend, was that he had a predecessor in the reformation business, called Jesus Christ.
Perhaps we may assume that Jesus knew as much as the Austrian did about saving people.
But the odd thing is that Jesus did not turn the disciples into storm troopers, burn down the Temple at Jerusalem, and fix the blame on Pontius Pilate. On the contrary, he made it clear that the business of the philosopher was to make ideas available, and not to impose them on people.”
T. H. White, The Once and Future King
Jesus said,
“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.
Jesus did not impose His beliefs on anyone. He told his disciples clearly,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20.
Jesus told his disciple to make disciple not by force but by presenting the gospel to all men and letting them make up their minds for themselves.
Within the teachings of Jesus and the apostles is not only the way to heaven but the secret of a content life.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Jesus said.
Both I and other Christians can tell you that those words are true. No matter the situation you are in. Knowing Christ as your personal Saviour. Having Christ in your life gives you a peace that is hard to describe.
In my sixty plus years on this earth I have been through a lot. I have had life threatening illnesses and other thing that have gone wrong, but though it all I have had a peace that God is with me. That he was and is there for me.
There is a famous writing called Foot prints in the sand. I don’t know who wrote it but it speaks to what I mean. It states,
“One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life:
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it. “LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.”
The LORD replied, “My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
I can honestly say that having Jesus in my life has given me peace through both the good times and times of trials.
Asking Jesus to come into your life is something I would ask anyone reading this to consider.
Letting Jesus be Lord of my life is the best decision I have ever made. Why not consider making him Lord of your life.
Please think about it.
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