Read: Psalm 139:2-3  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

Have you walked past a shop, only to be accosted by a persuasive salesman standing at the entryway? “Come in,” he says, with pragmatic friendliness. “There is no obligation,” he reassures you, “just have a look.” He might tempt the shopper in you by promising a good bargain, pointing out the prominently-placed signboards declaring big discounts on everything. The words “Come in” are often experienced today as an invitation to spend money.

But the invitation that we hear from Jesus in Matthew 11:28–29 is of a different kind. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” He says. “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.” Jesus is not selling anything, and we would be wrong to approach Him thinking we can buy something or get a good discount.

What makes Jesus’ invitation so important is the fact that it comes from the most important Person in history. We all know who Jesus is. As His disciple Simon Peter confessed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). The Messiah, who came to earth to die in our place and win for us true forgiveness, freedom, and eternal life, is one of the three Persons in the divine Godhead.

We have to take the invitation to “Come to Me” seriously, because it comes from our Creator, our Physician, and our Saviour.

… Jesus knows exactly how we function and malfunction.

Because He is God, Jesus was there when time, space, and everything else was created. As the apostle John wrote, “the Word” was with God and was also God: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1–3). In Greek, the term translated as “the Word” is logos, which means “expression of a thought”. In this context, it refers to the total message of God to man, which is embodied by Jesus. John is therefore saying that Jesus was with God from the very beginning, and is God. The writer of Hebrews 1:2 noted that God the Father made the universe through Jesus His Son. Jesus was thus intimately involved in creating not just the universe, but each one of us as well.

Since Jesus is the one who created us, He knows all about us (Psalm 139:1–3, 13–16). He knows how we function and malfunction.

When you are not well, you see a doctor, hoping that he will know what is wrong with your body and how to fix it. You assume that he knows how your body works, and will be able to make the right diagnosis.

… doctors can be wrong …

But doctors can be wrong; they may not make the right diagnosis. They may know how bodies function in general, but they may not fully understand how your body works. When they see you, they use their skills and try to apply their general knowledge of human bodies to a particular knowledge of your body to discern what is wrong with you. Only then will they be able to prescribe treatment that can really help you.

Modern medical science is researching tailor-made therapies based on genetic variations. Not everyone responds to a particular medication in the same way. But if your genetic make-up is more fully known, doctors can provide the right medication in the right doses and combinations, ensuring maximum therapeutic effect with minimal side effects.

… He alone is able to put us back together again …

But you are more than a physical body. You have a mind and a soul. The doctor may not fully understand these even if he tries. He may treat your body with anti-depressant medication if you are feeling down, but he may not have sufficient soul-craft to deal with your grief or anxiety. When this happens, you may become disheartened and start hopping from doctor to doctor, searching for one who can give you a more comprehensive and lasting cure.

Unlike doctors who may not get it right all the time, Jesus knows exactly how we function and malfunction. He not only knows how human bodies function in general, but how each of our bodies works. And He understands that we are more than a physical body; that we have a mind and a soul too.

Therefore, He knows how we have been put together and how we have fallen apart, and He alone is able to put us back together again in the way that He originally intended. The call “Come to Me” has been issued from someone who knows exactly how we tick, what we need, and how we can be healed.

Consider this:
Is there an area of your life that needs a healing touch from Jesus, or needs to be saved by His redeeming hands?

Excerpted and adapted from Finding Rest For The Soul by Robert Solomon. © 2016 by Robert Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House. All rights reserved.

Related Resources:

Comfort for When Life Hurts. Find comfort in the Word of God with this 4-week devotional of specially-selected articles from Our Daily Bread. Find out more here.

 

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