“Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart and you shall find rest unto your souls…” Rebelling against the yoke the Father places on us, the yoke of His will and purpose is much more tiring than meekly accepting it. The Father placed “everything” upon the Son, the salvation of the world, the building of the church, etc but meekness gave Jesus access to strength and energy to carry it all. The one who carried everything is worth learning from. As a pastor I met so many Christians who had no set of soul, and meet them still. They were restless and created commotion around them, disturbing others.
In Matthew 11, Jesus teaches that rest come from two things:
Firstly, rest comes from knowing His Father as our Father – a revelation that only Jesus can give, for He claims to be the only theologian: no one knows the Father except the Son. Only He can bring us to know His Father as our Father.
Secondly, rest comes from having the heart of “The Son” who meekly does the Father’s will; a revelation that only the Father can give by the Spirit, for no one knows the Son except the Father. He can work in us the heart of a child who loves to be about His business and who accepts each charge from Him with meekness. So much strength is lost through bolting from the will of the Father like a horse, or stubbornly resisting the will of the Father like a mule. As the Father reveals the Son to us and in us by the Spirit, Jesus the Son frees us to live in the joyful meekness of being a child of God. He gives us not only the authority to know the Father but the power to live as a child of God rather than an independent adult determined on following our own plans and visions.
Active passivity is a vital part of moving forward in the things of God. It was very much part of the way Jesus triumphed and overcame the world. It is a vital part of the many lessons to be learned from Holy Week. Look at how much was done to Jesus in the will and foreknowledge of the Father. Jesus did not rebel but gave his back to the smiters and his face to those who pulled out His beard. He was like a sheep, dumb before the shearers. Those who teach passivity is always a bad thing need to tweak their teaching in the light of the story of Jesus, the Son of the Father who carried everything to the cross. There is a vital link between passivity and activity in the spiritual life. They co-exist positively in Christ. on the Jesus Way. We cannot have rest of soul without both.
God bless
Kenny
revkennyblog 
Thank you for this Kenny. Too often we are challenged
to get out and do things, when sometimes it is far wiser to step aside and pray.
We need to believe in the power and authority of the name of Jesus Christ, doors for sharing faith
open more frequently, faith & joy grow,& we believe we can influence the whole world without leaving the house! Indeed it sometimes takes chronic illness to
discover how much time has been “wasted” running around!
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