When I was in the seventh grade, as a part of our course in world geography, we, as students, had to learn all about the various European explorers who discovered lands and sea routes to different parts of the world. This kind of learning, unfortunately, is no longer taught in our schools today. Of course, if I were to ask you who Christopher Columbus was, most of you could tell me that he discovered North America. You probably even remember the little ditty, “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” But did you also know that he discovered the Caribbean Islands and Central and South America? Do you also remember that though he came from Italy, he sailed and made these discoveries for Spain? Let me throw a couple of other explorers at you. Does the name Samuel de Champlain ring a bell? He was the French explorer, navigator, and cartographer, meaning he was a map maker, among other things, who between 1603 and 1609 made twenty nine trips across the Atlantic Ocean, charting and designing maps of the lands and sites that he discovered. He is the guy who is given credit for discovering the Great Lakes between Canada and North America and he established the first French settlement in what is now called Quebec City. How about Eric the Red, the Viking Norseman who discovered and led the first European settlement on the island of Greenland, the largest island in the world! And folks, this was around the tenth century, in the year of our Lord, 982 AD. And if I may but post one more, Vasgo de Gama, who was the Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach and establish a sea and trade route to the nation of India. This happened sometime between 1497 and 1499. With the exception of Columbus, I’m sure that none of these names mean anything to you but we had to learn not only who they were, but what they discovered and when they discovered them! I remember sitting at my desk in my bedroom and looking up and making the statement that was the title of a famous musical play, “Stop the world! I want to get off!” Could you blame me?
Learning all these explorers and dates and events really wasn’t all that bad, you can see that I still remember them. However, at the time they seemed like a great burden! In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus was teaching his disciples that no matter what they were facing, they could come to Him for help. This same promise pertains to you and me today. Here is what He said, and I quote from the New Living Bible, “Come to me, all of you, who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” Like I said, my “burden” really wasn’t a burden at all, but it felt like one at the time. However, many of you carry really heavy burdens today. Maybe it is the death of a loved one. Maybe it’s a debilitating disease such as cancer or perhaps the rhythm of your heart slows you down from what you used to be able to do. And for many of us “old folks”, we are discovering not only that the body works are not like they used to be, but “the ole’ gray matter” is making inways into our memory systems, and we sometimes get frustrated because we can’t remember what we just did with our keys or some other item. Drat!
But in the midst of our struggles, whatever they may be, and they are real, Jesus said, “come unto me and I will give you rest.” In Jeremiah 6:16, there is a verse that reads in the Amplified Bible, “Thus says the Lord; stand by the roads and look. Ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is, then walk in it and you will find rest for your souls.” There is something about the “good old paths” that are solid and well established, aren’t there? And Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” That’s good, solid advice, isn’t it?
