Jesus' Burden Is Light
Every human relationship carries with it a certain set of expectations. That responsibility differs depending on the nature of the relationship. I have one set of responsibilities to those who hold authority over me, like my boss or my pastor. I have another set of responsibilities to my friends, to my neighbors, to those I mentor, to my spouse, and yet another to my children.
Needless to say, some of these relationships carry a weightier burden of responsibility than do others.
But who places the heaviest burden of expectation on you? For the Christian, the answer is easy, that would be God. Right? After all, He is our Creator and all that we have we owe to HIm.
Nevertheless, Jesus said that the burden of expectation He places on us is, comparatively speaking, light. This is really an astounding statement. How can our burden of responsibility to God be lighter than it is to others? Aren't we more accountable to Him than to anyone else? Absolutely! In a sense, every moral obligation we have to others goes back to God, Himself.
But the message of grace is that Jesus has taken all of the burdens of God's expectation from us and has placed them on Christ. So, according to Jesus, the lightest burden we will ever bear in any relationship will be with our Savior, who fulfilled all of our obligations. Who else in our life has ever released us like this?
Jesus has fulfilled all that God expected of us and has replaced those expectations with an unconditional love that has freed us to just love Him back. Truly, what was a burden has, in Christ, become a joy.
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).
The Search for the Perfect Man
Can you answer this riddle? The perfect man, the perfect woman, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus are all in a car accident. Who survives?
Answer: The perfect woman. The other three don't exist!
That doesn't stop women, the world over, from looking for him. But lost in the list of desirable characteristics posted on various women's websites and in magazines is the quality that makes all the difference. The Bible suggests that what a woman ought to be looking for is not whether her dream man has a feminine side or rock hard abs, but whether he loves just like Jesus.
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).
How Your Girl Friend Reads Your Mind
A new study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry has reported:
Women are more likely to have a 'mind-reading' gene mutation that gives them the ability to read a person's thoughts and emotions by looking at their eyes ...
The scientists found that the genetic variants on chromosome 3 in women are associated with their ability to read the mind in the eyes — known as cognitive empathy ...
"This new study demonstrates that empathy is partly genetic, but we should not lose sight of other important social factors such as early upbringing and postnatal experience," said Professor Bourgeron.
This new study just might boost the sale of men’s sunglasses!
I'm not sure whether I believe these new findings. I mean seriously, if women really could read their husbands minds, the result wouldn’t be “cognitive empathy,” it would be cognitive rage!
It’s a good thing only God knows the actual thoughts that go through our minds. Wait, what? Maybe that isn’t such a good thing. Not if we have anything we would prefer to hide!
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).