The Rhythms of Grace – An Invitation

Matthew 11:28-30 (MsgB) Jesus says: "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 illfitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Wayne Muller: Our relentless emphasis on success and productivity has become a form of violence. Constantly striving, we feel exhausted and deprived in the midst of great abundance, longing for time with friends and family, longing for a moment to ourselves.
Gordon MacDonald: Christians have always worked hard. They have always known honest tiredness, the result of work and servanthood. But something is different today. The believing community has never
been so busy, never had so many voices to listen to, never so many choices to make, never so many ways to respond. That, I believe, explains why we are facing the potential of a wholesale exhaustion of the spirit.

Jesus’ Invitation: Come to me…Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

John Ortberg: Following Jesus cannot be done at a sprint. If we want to follow someone, we can’t go faster than the one who is leading.

Romans 3:28 (MsgB) Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.

Galatians 6:8 (MsgB) The one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

QUESTIONS:
- Do you recognise in yourself a tendency towards doing rather than being? If so, what might be the roots of this?