Matthew 11:20-30
Be Still: Lord, please speak to us as we spend time meditating on these verses, individually and as your body, the Church. Amen.
Read: Matthew 11:20-30
At that time Jesus said, ’I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.
‘All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
’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.’ (vv25-30)
Encounter: We looked yesterday at doubt surfacing in our own suffering. But what about doubt arising from the wider world - the evil and grief around the globe; people, leaders or even churches, behaving in ways you can’t reconcile with the Jesus you know. Do God’s ways just seem incomprehensible? How can you hold on to a faith which sometimes seems to make little sense?
Let's be clear. You might fear and feel wearied by doubts; but Jesus does not condemn us. He acknowledges that we don’t have the mind of God; we don’t know him like Jesus does. Yet we can know God through Jesus if we have the minds, not of the wise and learned, but of little children.
Like children, we need to trust that God knows and remains over all – while we, with our finite brains, limited information, evidence, historical and cultural perspective, cannot understand all the questions of the cosmos. The stance of a child is one of curiosity and questioning but fundamentally, trust; they don’t give up on relationship if they can’t always find or understand the answers they seek.
Jesus meets us with comfort in our doubts as he tells us – draw near with your questions and your confusion. I’m here for all of it. Find rest for your soul in my love for you. Then from this place of love and safety, we can ask our questions.
Apply: Read the Bible, explore Christian faith – discuss, debate, wrestle with it. BUT prioritise relational intimacy with Jesus – you have access to a relationship with a friend of incomprehensible power, infinite wisdom, and immeasurable, sacrificial love.
When you start exploring difficult ideas, spend time seeking God’s presence in worship or prayer (I like to go for a walk with God and ponder my questions as I go, inviting him into the painful spaces of doubt).
Devote: Jesus, please help me to be a child in your presence – full of wonder, trusting in your love. Help me too, to find resources and get alongside people with whom I can discuss, debate, and deepen my faith.