Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
Many people in this world are not disciples of Jesus Christ. There are many reasons for this. All of them seem to share a lack of awareness of what God is really like, and what it is like to believe in him the way he intends.
Beliefs and behaviors often described as Christianity abound, but that appellation does not certify that the contents of the package are authentic. The difference between the experiences of believers in the scriptures and the experiences of those who call themselves Christians today is evidence of a deviation from God’s teachings, as God does not change.
Far too many believers refuse to consider putative truth despite the difference between their own experiences and the much greater experiences of those in the scriptures. Clearly, something is missing and/or wrong in their theology.
Christians who practice adulterated beliefs and behaviors fail to experience the blessed life the Lord promised would attend his followers, while simultaneously providing compelling reasons for non-believers to pass when offered an opportunity to learn more about the Lord.
Humans are rational beings. When presented with the choice between normal life and fruitless variants of Christianity, rational people will choose normal life. Why would anyone subscribe to a long list of rules and rituals if it doesn’t lead to a more abundant life? Who would believe in the experiment of the gospel if it fails to produce the same results as promised in the scriptures?
No one can claim to have invalidated an experiment that is not performed as originally described. If performed as described, the calculus changes.
The gospel of Jesus Christ, when correctly understood and lived, produces the same wonderful result in every person. To those who understand what the Lord Jesus really has to offer and comprehend the alternative, believing in God is the only rational choice.
Life without the Lord (which includes life with a watered-down version of what is labeled as Christianity) is full of suffering without purpose. Consider any seemingly positive aspect of life without God. Is it deep? Is it meaningful? Is it enduring? The honest answer in every case is no.
The happiness the world offers is unpredictable, fleeting, and hollow. A life of great pleasure can instantly veer into tragedy. A limitless list of friends can fail to provide any meaningful support when you really need it. Day after day, you find yourself fully exposed to an endless list of undesirable situations, and realize you are essentially powerless to mitigate these risks. The world offers you the choice of how to fill your time, but no matter how many thrills you seek, you find your life devoid of deep meaning and persistent value.
What does the Lord offer as an alternative? He offers you a relationship with him. You can get to know him through interacting with him in exchange for you focusing your heart and mind on him
The Lord Jesus said:
If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. (John 14:23)
God is full of perfect love: “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8) He will only ever act in your best interest: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
God is all-knowing. He knows the future and the past (see Isaiah 46:10). He will only ever ask you to act in a way that will result in the greatest possible outcome for you.
God is just and merciful: “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.” (Psalm 116:5) These two traits act together in a way that mean that while he will ensure that you will always be recompensed for the good that you do and that you become, you can also rest assured that when you make mistakes, he will forgive you the second you learn from them.
When Moses achieved this state, God showed him the nature of his character:
6 ...merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...
(Exodus 34)
God will likewise unfold his character to you as you focus your heart and mind on him. You will have many experiences with him, each one providing you greater happiness than anything this world can offer.
You will gain great perspective and understanding regarding the unpleasant things in this world. You will experience deep meaning in life—all of life, even the day-to-day, seemingly mundane things. You will see the beauty in all of God’s creations. Your compassion for others and your willingness to forgive yourself will increase. When you suffer, you will always have the Lord as an advocate—not in the sense of an imagined friend, but a tangible, real companion who will support you when no one else can. You will see miracles happen in your life on a daily basis. You will begin and end each day in overwhelming gratitude for the abundant evidences of God’s love in your life.
The Lord wants you to know him. The way to do that is to accept his invitation: “Come, follow me....” (Matthew 4:19 NIV)
The Lord’s way is for you to live as his servant. The Lord described his way as a yoke—a rack placed on oxen that enables them to pull a connected cart or plow. He said that his yoke is easy and his burden light.
It may seem puzzling how living his commandments—which are not always easy—and serving him always—which is sometimes quite heavy— could be described as easy or light. The secret to his pregnant statement is to consider it in the context of the world.
If it were possible to avoid the deeply painful and negative aspects of living as the world does, what would you be willing to do for that kind of relief? How much effort would you be willing to exert to gain that relief for yourself?
It turns out that what God asks of us is far easier and far lighter than the burdens of normal, worldly life. When done properly, the benefits far, far outweigh the costs, not only in terms of the sorrow that you avoid, but in terms of the positive experiences you gain.
Whether you have always believed in God, or whether you’ve never been given a reason to, this book will help you better understand both what God provides and why it is beneficial. It contains information you have not yet considered.
Because of the breadth of what is covered, the information is organized topically, meaning that you should not think that the contents of one chapter mean the rest of the book focuses on that subject.
Because of the complexity of the information, some ideas are mentioned only very briefly despite the fact that they are worthy of much more attention.
This book should be considered a summary. It is meant to teach you how to reach out to God and why you should. He can fill in all the gaps and take you further.