Living Lightly

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." Jesus (Matthew 11:23-30)

New Year’s and summer holidays are a great time to reset for a new year. And thanks to God, my family has been able to get a bit better at living lightly this year. As we’ve focussed on God together as a family, prayed together and kept things positive we’ve gotten a bit better at smiling and laughing even when a lot seems to be going on.

But as life sometimes becomes full of activity, it’s easy for activity to become the focus of life. We can become engaged with doing rather than being, with the activities themselves instead of the people around us. Life quickly starts to feel busy, heavy and gets out of the wonderful, “unforced rhythms of grace”, that come from the life of God.

But how do we get out of ‘activity mode’? How can we get back to living out of the overflow of real life from God? I’m not satisfied to presume that there is nothing we can do about it. We’re grown-ups. We can say no. We can exercise self-control. We don't have to wait for our emotions to come around.

Jesus invites us to keep company with Him and that He will show us how to really live – freely and lightly. Wow! What an offer! We have an ever-present life coach who knows everything and lives inside us! Sometimes we just need to slow down or step off our activity track to just – be – with Him. When we make intimacy with Him our goal and priority, then we can realise life that fulfils.

The joy of fulfilment is not going to come through activity. I won’t receive joy when I complete my to-do list or by trying to. Living automatically won’t lead me to joy. But we can take joy as we keep company with Jesus. There is joy in His presence.

We don’t have to stand on a hill and wait for the wind to change.
We can take joy.
We can walk with Him and live now.