25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:25-30 (ESV)
Independence: Freedom from the control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others.
Dependence: The state of relying on or needing someone or something for aid, support, or the like.
Self-sufficiency should free the proud person from the need to be made much of by others. That’s what sufficient means. But evidently there is a void in this so-called self-sufficiency. The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be sufficient. We are but in the image of God, not the real thing. We are shadows and echoes. So there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self. —John Piper “Future Grace”
Dependence on Jesus Christ requires…
An Acknowledgement
An Authority
…believers will truly know God, but not in the very way the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit know each other. —J. Knox Chamblin
Kathy Keller’s Book
The New City Catechism: 52 Questions & Answers for Our Hearts & Minds
An Admission Coupled with Action
“Take up my yoke; my help for the work, as heavy as it may seem, for it is here to help you. The life I want to teach you to live is good, for it brings salvation. Learn from me…Do as I do…think as I think…Understand and depend on me completely so you can be just like me. Keep in mind, I did not escape the hard life, but I did experience rest, peace, and refreshment in its midst. Remember I am dependent on God the Father and need Him. So should you. And if you do, you will have peace no matter what burden or heavy load comes your way in this life.”
John Piper’s Book
Future Grace
An Assurance of Rest
But worth, value, and beauty is not determined by some innate quality…But by the length for which the owner would go to possess them. —Propaganda “Excellent”
So, dearly-beloved, if you wish to be servants of God, if in your heart there burns a holy desire to serve the Most High, begin at the right place. Christ directs you to the door of entrance into his service, and into everything else that is worth having, when he says, “‘Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ I will give it to you;—you are not to buy it, you are not to earn it, or deserve it,—I will give it to you freely, for nothing is freer than a gift. I will give it to you;—nobody else can do so, but I, in my own personality, will give to you who are the most weary with your laboring, and the most heavy laden with your sin,—I will give to you rest, and I will give it to you immediately, on the spot. Come to me now, by believing on me, by trusting wholly to me, by getting away from: yourself, and forgetting for a while any hope you ever had in yourself, and just coming to me to find your all in me; and so coming, I will give you rest. —Spurgeon’s Collected Sermons - Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit.