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A little boy was spending his Saturday morning playing in his sand box. He had with him his box of cars and trucks, his plastic pail, and his shiny red plastic shovel.

While in the process of creating roads and tunnels, he discovered a large rock in the middle of his sand box.

The boy dug around the rock, managing to dislodge it from the sand. With some struggle he pushed and nudged the rock across the sandbox by using his feet. When the boy got the rock to the edge of the sandbox, he found that he couldn’t roll it up and over the little wall.

Determined the little boy shoved and pushed and pulled and pried, but every time he made some progress the rock would fall back into the sand box.

The little boy grunted, struggled, pushed and shoved; but his only reward was to have the rock roll back, smashing his chubby fingers. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

All this time the boy’s father watched from his living room window as the drama unfolded.

The moment the tears fell, a large shadow fell across the boy and the sand box. It was the boy’s father. Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn’t you use all the strength that you had available?"

Defeated the boy sobbed back, "But I did Daddy, I did! I used all my strength that I had!"

"No, son," corrected the father kindly, "You didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me."

With that the father reached down, picked up the rock and removed it from the sandbox.

Bearing the burdens of our sins Jesus cried,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

This little boy’s burden may pale in comparison to the burden Jesus had of dying on the cross. It may pale in comparison to the burdens of deteriorating health, financial stress, wounded personal relationships, rebellious children, situations of hopelessness. Yet the story conveys the truth about burdens. Carrying burdens are part of life’s job description.

I remember watching my sons go off to school weighed down with back pack, sports equipment bag, and school project. As a parent you wish that those would be the only burdens they would have to carry in life. Yet you know full well, that as they grow they will be faced with many more burdens. Burdens which would fall into all three categories of life, emotional, physical, and spiritual. As much as any parent wants to shield their child, as much as any person wants to be shielded themselves from burdens. The burdens of illness, death, grief, guilt, sin, worry, betrayal, worry, discouragement raid the serenity of our lives.

The weight of those burdens are sometimes so great that like Jesus, who was suffering great anguish, we cry out like Him,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

How do you handle your burdens?

Some people handle burdens the same way they tame wild stallions. Have you ever seen someone try to tame a wild stallion?. They put a burden, a rider, on the stallions back. In an effort to cast off the burden the stallion will kick, jump, buck, as hard as it can. Eventually it will finally submit to the burden.

Does this resemble how you handle your burdens? Or are you more like the child in the earlier story? Do you try to handle it yourself? Perhaps you are like the old man in the following story.

The story is told by a missionary in Guatemala. He was driving his pickup down a dirt road, when he came upon an elderly gentleman who was loaded down with wears, which he was taking to market to sell. It seems his family would busy themselves all week long making blankets, pottery, and jewelry to sell at the market on Saturday. When Saturday came the elderly gentlemen would carry these wears on his back to market.

The missionary, offered the elderly gentleman a ride. The old man had never ridden in a truck before. Hesitantly he agreed to climb into the back of the truck with his wears. The missionary proceeded to the market. As he was driving he glanced in the rear view mirror and saw the elderly gentleman squatting in the pick up with the entire load of wears still on his back.

Jesus invites us,

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are
carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

When was the last time you took Jesus up on this invitation? When you did were you like elderly man in the back of the pick up, who still was carrying the load on his back. Or unlike the elderly man did you take the wears off your back and let Jesus carry them. Jesus invites, you and me to take the burdens off our backs, off our minds, off our hearts and let Jesus carry them.

It’s not a question of the size of your load, its a question of the bent of your heart.

Is Jesus really your Lord? Your Friend? Your Rock?
Your Refuge?

When you shouted Hosanna to the King, did you really mean it? Is Jesus really your king? Are you without hesitation His obedient servant?

In truth it’s not your burdens that Jesus wants. Its you. If He has you, He is carrying your burdens virtually because He is carrying you.

This is the blessings of burdens. Burdens brings us to our knees before God, before God who bore the weight of humanity’s sin and death on the cross; before God who described in Psalm 145 as our burden bearer.

"The Lord is faithful in all His words,
and gracious in all His deeds.

The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to You,
and You give them their food in due season.

You open Your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is just in all His ways,
and kind in all His doings.

The Lord is near to all who call on Him
to all who call on Him in truth.

He fulfills the desires of all who fear Him;
He also hears their cry, and saves them.

The Lord watches over all who loves Him.
(Psalm 145 13-20)

If the burdens of sin, guilt, worry, sorrow, of life in general are loading you down, remember Jesus’ invitation,

"Come to all you who are weary
and
carrying heavy burdens
and
I will give you rest."

amen