“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
Rankin Wilbourne wrote a book called, “Union with Christ.” In a certain chapter in the book, Wilbourne talks about the modern secular Western mindset. Quoting others, he sites a few descriptions. , “the Big me,” “the I world, ” the age of the selfie.”
” This mindset assumes we each have a true, authentic self, hidden within us and the path to human flourishing involves discovering and expressing that true self. ”
This is, “the official dogma of all Western societies,” so says a Professor, Barry Schwartz.
Our culture complies with this mindset also:
“Be a rebel, make your own rules, ” is a slogan of J.C. penny advertisement.
Even our Supreme Court says, “the heart of liberty is to define one’s own concept, of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”
Western mindset can all have an exciting appeal. But Wilbourne explains how it plays out. Problems abound. I will show his five points in miniature:
First, “If you can do anything, and it is up to you to choose, then that long list of possibilities coupled with the significance of your choice, can be paralyzing.”
Second problem is “anxiety.” “arising from a social context in which, success is attributed to. and expected of, the autonomous individual.” Depression and feelings of inadequacy are prevalent in our society.
Third, “having more choices actually makes us more discontent.” “Surely one of these must be the perfect one.” A choice of spouse can be hyper-analyzed again and again; before and after. Just try to buy a box of cereal at Walmart.
Fourth, Autonomy “only ends up imprisoning you in the labyrinth of your constantly shifting desires.” “each in the cell of himself, is almost convinced of his freedom.” W.H. Auden
Fifth, this mindset affects our view of God. “A convenient distant deity, we may co-opt God into our plans, but we don’t want him making plans for us.””
“God becomes a stagehand in the play we are writing and starring in.”
But let us return to our heading: “I will give you rest.” Come, and I will give you rest. Come to me, so says Jesus Christ. Laboring with the burden of unlimited choices, heavy laden with the cultures’ high expectations.
Identify with Me, and learn of Me so says the Christ. — learn my qualities : I find My Father in all dealings of life and I don’t fight life. And this encompasses my entire being.
Some of Welbourn’s quotes agree:
Union with Christ gives us permission to rest.
We don’t have to be burdened with the weight of the possible.
We don’t have to be frozen in fear — your life is no longer in your own hands.
You have died to that old way of living, Angst from believing you are not allowed to fail. Inadequacy from believing you have.
You no longer have to justify your life.
You don’t have to worry about what others think about you.
You no longer work for approval, you work from approval.
In closing, Galatians 4:6 teaches,
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
Friends, we are adopted into His Family.
“Living in this family is what you were made for.”” You’ve finally found the boundaries that fit you, you have found your place, you are home.” Ralph Ellison.
Our life is enfolded in another’s story, “you don’t have to discover or craft, create or achieve, invent or re-invent your own identity. ” Your identity is found outside of yourself not deep within yourself. You no longer stand alone, you no longer get the credit or the blame.” Rankin Wilbourne
“My yoke is easy, my burden is light. All furnishing and easy to manage is my yoke, my burden is relatively small. Love ya
