The Easy Burden of Pleasing God by Patty Kirk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an instance of a good title that is an accurate depiction of the book. Kirk maintains that we often create burdensome lives and further burden one another. And then we have the audacity to attribute this to the demands or requirements of God. And finally we tire of the whole thing.
Kirk maintains that the teaching of the Bible is entirely different. It is a call to ease or rest in God. God’s work is to believe in “the One Sent” (John 6:29). Even believing is a relinquishing of our futile efforts into the care of Jesus, as Peter does in his wavering faith as he attempts to walk on water.
The easy life is one “yoked” to the one God sent, where we share our burdens with him. I would differ in one point with Kirk here–yoked animals do work but less hard, more ‘restfully’ than an unyoked animal alone. Jesus promise in Matthew 11:28-30 is not one of rest from our work but rest IN our work.
We often struggle with this, thinking we need to do more, pray more, be better. And we don’t help each other with this in the church. Here, perhaps as much as anywhere we need to just say “no” to embrace the easy burdens of God.
Kirk mixes careful handling of biblical passages with very down to earth illustrations from her own life and that of her family. She can be almost raw in her vulnerability at times, confessing struggles with mental illness resulting from a sexual assault and difficulties loving an elderly parent with dementia and her struggles as she gave up a stimulating life overseas for a husband and an Oklahoma farm. All this makes her account of the slow, patient grace of God all the more convincing.
My hunch is that the cover art and endorsements reflect the publishers estimate that this is a “women’s book”. I would maintain that it is just as important for men to read, both to understand the burdens we sometimes impose on ourselves and others, and the challenges our wives and sisters face in experiencing the grace of God in their lives.