"The source of life"
An Amazon message board comment caught my attention recently. "I have a zillion books in my library," Michele said in a discussion on New Age spirituality, "books on the Kabbalah, Golden Dawn books, The Zohar, books on the Tetragrammaton, Ernest Holmes books, Dalai Lama books, Ascension books, Christian Science books, Theosophical books, and on and on." Michele's vast reading left her confused. "I couldn't assemble [their teachings] into a bottom line if my life depended on it. If the ultimate communion with Source relies somehow on endless ritual and recitation, all is lost to me."
Michele longed to commune with the "Source", with God, but felt disheartened by the contradictory teachings her mystical authors gave about how to do so. She was weary. Burdened.
Jesus addressed people like Michele. Many years before He came to earth, another Jesus, Jesus ben Sira, had called people to find soul rest by taking on the "yoke" of the Jewish Law through study and reflection (Ecclesiasticus 51:23-27). By Christ's time, legalistic teachers had distorted that Law, adding long lists of rules to it. This "yoke" (originally a device worn on the shoulders to make a load easier to carry) now crushed the faithful (Matthew 23:4). The people longed for God, but were burdened with "rituals and recitations."
Jesus gave an extraordinary invitation to these weary folks. "Come to Me," He said. "Take My yoke upon you . . . and you will find rest for your souls" (11:28-29). With those shocking words Jesus claimed that He was the ultimate source of soul rest, not the teachers' rituals or even the Law itself. Jesus is the ultimate source of life (John 1:4). Come to Him today. , Sheridan Voysey, Our Daily Journey
CLICK HERE to visit OurDailyJourney.org
An Amazon message board comment caught my attention recently. "I have a zillion books in my library," Michele said in a discussion on New Age spirituality, "books on the Kabbalah, Golden Dawn books, The Zohar, books on the Tetragrammaton, Ernest Holmes books, Dalai Lama books, Ascension books, Christian Science books, Theosophical books, and on and on." Michele's vast reading left her confused. "I couldn't assemble [their teachings] into a bottom line if my life depended on it. If the ultimate communion with Source relies somehow on endless ritual and recitation, all is lost to me."
Michele longed to commune with the "Source", with God, but felt disheartened by the contradictory teachings her mystical authors gave about how to do so. She was weary. Burdened.
Jesus addressed people like Michele. Many years before He came to earth, another Jesus, Jesus ben Sira, had called people to find soul rest by taking on the "yoke" of the Jewish Law through study and reflection (Ecclesiasticus 51:23-27). By Christ's time, legalistic teachers had distorted that Law, adding long lists of rules to it. This "yoke" (originally a device worn on the shoulders to make a load easier to carry) now crushed the faithful (Matthew 23:4). The people longed for God, but were burdened with "rituals and recitations."
Jesus gave an extraordinary invitation to these weary folks. "Come to Me," He said. "Take My yoke upon you . . . and you will find rest for your souls" (11:28-29). With those shocking words Jesus claimed that He was the ultimate source of soul rest, not the teachers' rituals or even the Law itself. Jesus is the ultimate source of life (John 1:4). Come to Him today. , Sheridan Voysey, Our Daily Journey
CLICK HERE to visit OurDailyJourney.org
