"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 ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matt. 11:28-30, Message).

HILE PRODUCING THE MESSAGE paraphrase of the New Testament, Eugene Peterson was struck by the language of the original Gospels and Epistles: they were written in the street language of the first century. There is little formal language of governments and philosophers. The Koine (New Testament Greek) reflected the rhythms and idiom of the marketplace. It was the language in which friends would discuss, not philosophers discourse.

Peterson has spent much of his life studying and teaching New Testament Greek: as a scholar, he's no slouch. But the purpose of his paraphrase is not to replace any existing version, nor to produce a new version, but to make a New Testament accessible in today's popular English.

In doing so, Peterson's paraphrase brings with it new perspectives on some well-loved texts, including that with which we began: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden" (Matt. 11:28). One startling phrase in Peterson's rendering of this text is burned out on religion. Yet it is a legitimate inference from the text.

The key is realizing that "religion" and "Christianity" are two different things:

Religion refers to the doings of humanity-power structures, layers of control, church leadership, church offices, human doctrinal systems, things done to achieve salvation, church finance, even worship styles.

Christianity, by contrast, has to do with Christ.

Perhaps being "burned out on religion" is not so startling. It is certainly not uncommon. In a ministers' meeting just prior to the most recent General Conference session, Archibald Hart reported, "Less than one in five pastors make it to [age] 65 with their health intact." And the pressures brought to bear on pastors often impact church officers, too.

Those pressures have everything to do with religion and nothing to do with Christianity. Not only are these not the same things, they can be opposites. They are opposite if the people who maintain and control the power structures-at local, regional, or national levels-have not had their lives transformed by the gospel and are not influenced by the servant leadership model of Jesus, and abuse their positions.

Being burned out on religion can take many forms. Some of them can be, to a degree, the victim's own fault: he or she can voluntarily overwork, in which case the work of the Lord gets in the way of the Lord of the work. Some have simply not developed mechanisms to cope with the stresses that come. But there are unquestionably others who become victims of the "system," or of someone working the system who chooses to divide those who work in his or her charge as "successes" or "failures" and to victimize perceived "failures." (Note: God doesn't have these categories.)

The most acute form of religious burnout is experienced by those who pass negative verdicts on themselves; and those who, because they believe they have to achieve their own salvation (as opposed to accepting Christ's), fall by the wayside when the struggle becomes too much for them.

Rest, Grace, and a Well-fitting Yoke
Jesus offered hope to those burned out on religion. He offered a way out of religious systems and of religion based on mere form. The formal religion of Jesus' day was meant to honor God, but it condemned the ordinary Jew to a life of hard labor. That was bad news. Jesus offered good news. And His good news was summarized in rest, grace, and a well-fitting yoke.

The rest Jesus offers is not a release from obligations. However, the demands of Jesus are such that to respond to them is rest. Jesus takes the desperation out of the search for righteousness. Religion is about rules; Christianity is about a day-by-day relationship with Christ.

Jesus offers the unforced rhythms of grace. Grace is the essence of God's character. It is God's kindness to the undeserving; God's saving love toward sinners. It is loving-kindness; it is steadfast love. Grace is love that cares, stoops, and rescues. Law tells us we're crooked; grace straightens us out. "By the free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free" (Rom. 3:24, TEV). Grace is not cheap-it cost Calvary-but it is free.

"My yoke is easy," Jesus said. As a carpenter, Jesus knew that every yoke was different. Ox yokes were made after the measurements had been taken. Then, when the yoke was completed, the ox was brought back for a fitting and final adjustments. A story is told that Jesus made the best yokes in all Galilee, and that over His workshop hung the sign, "My yokes fit well."

Though first-century Jews professed to be proud to bear the "yoke of the law," it had been made crushing and burdensome by the rules and formalism of the Pharisees. When Jesus said, "My yoke fits well," He meant that the life unto which you are called will not gall, frustrate, or oppress you. It will fit your temperament, talents, strengths, and gifts exactly. Obedience, after all, is the love response to God's grace. Love, after all, makes even a heavy burden light.

Are you tired? Burned out on religion? Go on a retreat with Jesus. "Come to Me, all those whose feet are worn to the bone on the road of legalism and whose hearts and minds have been bruised by religious systems and structures," says Jesus, "and I will give you rest."

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David Marshall is editor of the Stanborough Press in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England.