The Journey We’ve Been On)

In the course of this study, I have argued in favor of Jesus’s claim in Matthew 11:28-30

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.

Through this study I have made special effort to address the two groups that might disagree with this claim: the unbeliever who sees the commandments of God as a terrible burden, and the believer who struggles every day to be worthy of God’s expectations. Here were the main points in my study:

1. The liberation of the commandments. I examined how the true purpose of God’s restrictions is to free us from the demands of addiction and vice, which are the great taskmasters of humanity. Yes, God requires us to surrender to Him, but it is a surrender into rest and peace.
2. Refutation of self-made perfection. I discussed how God never intended for us to perfect ourselves through sheer moral grit. Through that act of surrendering to Him we open the door to a miracle: effortless change.
3. Surrendering will and autonomy. Yes, achieving a state of rest, peace, and effortless change is possible, but only at the cost of unconditional surrender to God. The one truly difficult task that God requires of us is to give up our autonomy and submit to His will.
4. The easy way. The scriptures are full of examples of those who made this surrender, then found that God shouldered their burdens, accomplished miracles in their lives, and gave them easy victories. We talked about Gideon’s army, but also consider the examples of Peter fishing, the widow’s cruse of oil, the parting of the Red Sea, and the siege of Jericho.

The Great Secret)

Speaking for myself, I am not yet done surrendering my will to God. I am still very much a work in progress. This is because even after having had some practice at it, surrendering is still hard to do. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.

As difficult as surrender may be, it is still easier than the alternative lifestyles of grit or appetite-satiation. And once that surrender is made, everything afterward is weightless. I have learned these facts for myself, personally.

So, surrender is easier, but it does not at first appear so. I believe this is by design. It ensures that no one accidentally stumbles into that better way. They have to take what appears to be the harder path, by faith, before they can finally discover for themselves that it is actually much, much easier.

This is the great secret. Many people live and die, never understanding what it was all about. They are perpetually frustrated, always searching for success and satisfaction, but never finding it, and yet the answer was there in front of them all the time. Hopefully you and I can do it better.