That pace is unsustainable

Do you ever feel like your life is just not working out the right way? Some of us are merely burned out on life. We have been doing everything right, but everything still seems to go wrong. Life just isn't working. We can do all the right stuff, all the while seeing all kinds of hypocrisy around us, leaving us to wonder if this life we are living is filled with all the right stuff. There might not be a whole lot of 'drama' in our lives, but there are times when we don't feel happy or fulfilled. If we are dependent upon the feeling of happiness to evaluate the 'rightness' of our lives, we will likely all feel a little disappointed at times.

“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)

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:6-7)

We know the way we say something, or do something really matters. We can do something in a totally ineffective way. Most of the time we think of the way we live out Christianity is to adhere to truth. We forget that we are to reflect the truth Christ taught - the way we live is as important as the truth we believe. We are to be 'people of the way' - the way we live is to be more than right theology and strong morality. We are to live and love the way Jesus did it while living on this earth. Compare the way Jesus lived to the way we live and we might just see a big difference!

Jesus interacted with people - interacting with them 'full of joy'. He didn't exhibit worry or anxiety. He lived in peace because of the truth he knew. He stopped to spend time with the needy around him. He was consumed with intimate fellowship with his Father. Herein might be the difference today - we get so distracted by all the things that take away from that intimate fellowship. Jesus is not just the truth and the light - he is the example we are to follow. He is the example of truth and light - he lived it out for us so we could learn to live it out with him.

As we move away from the complexity of life, we find peace. We find fellowship with Christ becomes easier. We have filled our lives with things we think will make us better people, but we forget the 'better' in us comes as we stop 'doing' and focus more on just living as Christ did. You see, Jesus was not about the 'doing' - he was about the 'being'. The 'way' we are to live is to just take the time we need to 'be' and not 'do'. We have time for the things we make time for in our lives. Sometimes we have to disconnect from what we have been doing in order to understand what it is we are to 'be'. Just sayin!