Reading Jesus’ words this morning….for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
That’s a great offer. So how does that fit with the wise man who dug deep and laid a foundation on rock. That’s work. Does following Jesus mean work or doing nothing or something else?
And then there’s the paradox of not following Christ, which ends in work and slavery, whether you know Him or not.
I think the answer is in How you follow. Loving Christ is different than doing duty, either for Christ or for an idol. Love gives strength and passion and energy that takes you through the rough spots. The focus of following Jesus is love for Jesus. To lose sight of Him and falling out of love with Him, leaves you work and burden, like the church of Ephesus in Rev. Religious duty transforms Jesus into a religious task master. And then, moving away from those duties and burdens to the “freedom” to do nothing, leads to bondage to things and the nagging feeling that there should be something more, which can also be oppressive.
O wretched men that we are (and women), what shall deliver us? Falling / staying in love with our savior.
Love shares love with the lost. Love rejoices in the one who loved
and lived and died and lives again. Love sees that baby in the manger as a humble, gracious, loving Savior and Lord . Love covers a multitude of sins and keeps forgiving and showing mercy because our love is alive in Him and His love and is in love with Him. Love is not focused on duty and law, but is energized in the Love of Christ as we love Him.
And the paradox is you work like crazy but it’s not compulsive and it’s not work or a burden, because you’re in love.
LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE Chapter 13
Copyright 1994 Daniel G. Kachikis
The story has been removed from the blog as of June 2015 and is now an e-book on Kindle. The Amazon link is
That’s a great offer. So how does that fit with the wise man who dug deep and laid a foundation on rock. That’s work. Does following Jesus mean work or doing nothing or something else?
And then there’s the paradox of not following Christ, which ends in work and slavery, whether you know Him or not.
I think the answer is in How you follow. Loving Christ is different than doing duty, either for Christ or for an idol. Love gives strength and passion and energy that takes you through the rough spots. The focus of following Jesus is love for Jesus. To lose sight of Him and falling out of love with Him, leaves you work and burden, like the church of Ephesus in Rev. Religious duty transforms Jesus into a religious task master. And then, moving away from those duties and burdens to the “freedom” to do nothing, leads to bondage to things and the nagging feeling that there should be something more, which can also be oppressive.
O wretched men that we are (and women), what shall deliver us? Falling / staying in love with our savior.
Love shares love with the lost. Love rejoices in the one who loved
and lived and died and lives again. Love sees that baby in the manger as a humble, gracious, loving Savior and Lord . Love covers a multitude of sins and keeps forgiving and showing mercy because our love is alive in Him and His love and is in love with Him. Love is not focused on duty and law, but is energized in the Love of Christ as we love Him.And the paradox is you work like crazy but it’s not compulsive and it’s not work or a burden, because you’re in love.
LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE Chapter 13
Copyright 1994 Daniel G. Kachikis
The story has been removed from the blog as of June 2015 and is now an e-book on Kindle. The Amazon link is
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