for it. That was all. But He would not make it for them. For
one thing it was not in His plan to make it for them; for another
thing, men were not so planned that it could be made for them; and
for yet another thing, it was a thousand times better that they
should make it for themselves.
That this is the meaning becomes obvious from the wording of the
second sentence: "Learn of me, and ye shall FIND Rest." Rest,
(that is to say), is not a thing that can be GIVEN, but a thing to
be ACQUIRED. It comes not by an act, but by a process. It is not
to be found in a happy hour, as one finds a treasure; but slowly, as
one finds knowledge. It could indeed be no more found in a moment
than could knowledge. A soil has to be prepared for it. Like
a fine fruit, it will grow in one climate, and not in another; at
one altitude, and not at another. Like all growth it will have an
orderly development and mature by slow degrees.
The nature of this slow process Christ clearly defines when He says
we are to achieve Rest by LEARNING. "Learn of me," He says, "and
ye shall find rest to your souls."