Editorial August 28, 1909 Issue

"LEARN OF ME."

Annie M. Knott

The great Teacher invited the weary and heavy laden to come to him and find rest. These had all been carrying heavy burdens,—false beliefs concerning God and man, forms and ceremonies, creeds and dogmas.—with sin, disease, and death in their train, and they were anxiously waiting for the coming of the Messiah who was to bring them relief. Christ Jesus lifted the burden from many weary ones; but he did more than this, he invited all to come and "learn" of him, and his promise was, "Ye shall find rest unto your souls." In the first instance he gave them, through his healing work, some measure of rest; then he called upon them to learn for themselves the truth by which he did his mighty works, and thus permanent peace and rest were to be theirs.

A great thinker of the present day, who comments upon this invitation of the Master, remarks that "rest" is seldom associated with learning, and most people would agree with him that this is true; nay, there are some who might even go as far as did Festus when he said to Paul, "Much learning doth make thee mad." Not so, however, with the one who learns of Christ. He who does this must show the results of his tutelage by doing somewhat as his teacher would do. Jesus evidently expected this, and no less, for Luke tells us that he said, "Every one that is perfect shall be as his master;" and perfection was the goal toward which he continually directed thought and aspiration.

As we glance over the history of the last nineteen hundred years we are compelled to admit that few indeed have heeded or understood the gracious invitation, "Learn of me," for there is too much unrest, too much sin and misery in human experience, too much that points to quite another teaching than that of the meek and mighty Nazarene. His own disciples, those who had learned of him, healed the sick and sinful as he did. Paul was not a disciple of Jesus, yet he learned of Christ, and by so doing he, too, carried on the same healing work as the disciples: and though his life outwardly was one of incessant toil, he must have known the rest of ever renewed strength to have accomplished all that he did. Our text-book tells us that "God rests in action" (p. 519), and as we learn of Christ, Truth, we reflect God and rest in doing His will.

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