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. Matthew 11:28-30 MSG.

The above Scripture verses were written in The Message translation by Eugene Peterson. Written for us today in the language we can best understand; translated from the ancient Hebrew and Greek. Jesus spoke these words. I am finding more and more that I want to give Jesus every part of me. I want to surrender to Him all of me. The bad parts of anger, judging, self-righteousness, criticizing, contempt, doubt, fear, worry. But to truly surrender, I need to give to Him the good parts, too. Faith, hope, love, study, kindness, turning to Him, learning from Him, sharing what I am learning, loving Him and others.

Yesterday in church we heard that we were bought with a price, paid in full, for our freedom, our “manumission”. Manumission was the term given when a slave was given papers certifying their purchase price was paid in full and they were now free. Our psalm, Psalm 49, talks about that very thing. Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me – those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them – the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough…v. 5, 6, 7, 8. The ransom for a life is costly…no payment is ever enough. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. v. 15. The ransom for a life is costly…It took our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit – laying down His life for us. No payment is ever enough…His love was everything.

For those who don’t believe in God because they can’t see Him, pick one thing you love, just one thing. Can you make that one thing from nothing? You can see all the things that were made out of what did not exist before they were created. You truly do not have enough information to say with certainty you don’t believe in God. You who didn’t create anything out of nothing, cannot begin to comprehend the love of the One who did, or the wisdom of the design so intricate and inter-connected. But, when you begin to question by looking at that one thing, I hope you open your heart and mind and dare to begin a conversation…how, Lord, why? What does it mean? But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. That’s Who I surrender gladly to. I trust Him for all of me.