Salvation Assured IT'S HARD BUT IT'S EASY
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matt. 11:29.
Another of the things that makes it hard to be saved is admitting that we need to be converted again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day after. That is a cross to the human heart. Even the apostle Paul had a struggle with that. We are told that every day he found inclination at odds with God. Some people think that this was his inclination to do wrong things. Not so. The inclination that Paul found at odds with God was the inclination to be independent of God and to live on his own steam again. That was his constant struggle. After all, he had done a pretty good job on his own, and could look back and say that touching matters of the law he was blameless. He had been a very successful Pharisee.
Through the converting power of God, our inclinations to do wrong things are transformed. "When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us."--Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, March 18, 1890. But never, as long as life shall last here, will we lose the inclination to be independent of God. This is the constant struggle. To admit daily that we need God, to be crucified with Christ, is a painful work for the Christian. To say that this is easy, to say that coming to Christ and accepting His rest, which is offered as a gift, to say that taking His yoke, which is easy, is easy, is not correct. It is hard to come to Christ to rest. It is hard to continue to take His yoke, which is easy.
If only we could get it into our minds that everything valued by the world ends when Jesus comes again! There will be nothing of it important then, absolutely nothing! Houses, lands, cars, jobs, education, you name it. None of it is important when Jesus comes again. If only we could today think about that moment and say, Lord, help me to know what it means to come unto You and take Your yoke, which is easy. Easy? Yes. Easy in comparison with anything else the world has to offer. Hard for the stubborn human heart, but easy, considering eternity. May we today accept Jesus' invitation to come and find rest for our souls.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Matt. 11:29.
Another of the things that makes it hard to be saved is admitting that we need to be converted again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day after. That is a cross to the human heart. Even the apostle Paul had a struggle with that. We are told that every day he found inclination at odds with God. Some people think that this was his inclination to do wrong things. Not so. The inclination that Paul found at odds with God was the inclination to be independent of God and to live on his own steam again. That was his constant struggle. After all, he had done a pretty good job on his own, and could look back and say that touching matters of the law he was blameless. He had been a very successful Pharisee.
Through the converting power of God, our inclinations to do wrong things are transformed. "When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us."--Ellen G. White, in Review and Herald, March 18, 1890. But never, as long as life shall last here, will we lose the inclination to be independent of God. This is the constant struggle. To admit daily that we need God, to be crucified with Christ, is a painful work for the Christian. To say that this is easy, to say that coming to Christ and accepting His rest, which is offered as a gift, to say that taking His yoke, which is easy, is easy, is not correct. It is hard to come to Christ to rest. It is hard to continue to take His yoke, which is easy.
If only we could get it into our minds that everything valued by the world ends when Jesus comes again! There will be nothing of it important then, absolutely nothing! Houses, lands, cars, jobs, education, you name it. None of it is important when Jesus comes again. If only we could today think about that moment and say, Lord, help me to know what it means to come unto You and take Your yoke, which is easy. Easy? Yes. Easy in comparison with anything else the world has to offer. Hard for the stubborn human heart, but easy, considering eternity. May we today accept Jesus' invitation to come and find rest for our souls.
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