Heavy Burdens

HEAVY BURDENS

Each of us is given a burden to carry while on earth. It is to be faced with temptations and with our free will to choose. We have the freedom to choose, but we do not have control of the consequences that come from that choice.

It is part of what we agreed to before we came here. I am not certain that I chose the specific challenge(s) or burden(s) that was(were)(are) being given to me, but I knew such things were part of the package. It is how I respond to those challenges and burdens that determines both who I am and who I will become.

In times of stress I sometimes think of my neighbor: am I carrying more then he or she is? Am I responding to my challenges as well as they respond to their challenges. But that is judgmental, which is another burden for me to carry... And I cannot really know how well my neighbor is doing versus his own life challenges, can I?

In some way I believe that the total burden I carry is equivalent to yours and to all others: no more, no less. They are not "equal" because each set of burdens is as different as each snowflake. But I think they are equivalent and matched to our abilities to overcome or resist. And these challenges are not bad for us. If we decide to make the right choices, they are opportunities for personal growth.
Instead of judging others, the Christ asks us to look at Him. Are my temptations more than He bore? Am I doing as well as He did? Are my choices in life better than His? The answer is obvious, "No", but we never like that answer, do we?

But He responds to our conclusion that we are bearing a heavy load with an amazing offer, Matthew 11: "28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

He wants to relieve us of our "heavy" burden, in exchange for His "light" burden. In addition to all that He has already done for us, all that he suffered in Gethsemane and on the Cross, He offers us even more. Rest, even rest unto our souls, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,"
Even someone with the impulses and psychological drive of a serial killer still has a choice to make. So do we.