His yoke is easy

 

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30)

“Come to me.” Jesus beckons all who are weary to come to Him.  What a comforting thought.  Those of us who are weary and heavy-laden- and that includes us all.  Life can certainly be wearisome.  The burdens we often carry are too much for us.  Jesus understood the plight of the human condition.  He has a solution.  He promises rest for those who are weary.  What a wonderful promise. 

What burdens do we carry?  Certainly, the burden of sin and guilt is a huge one.  Who among us does not recognize our sin and moral failure?  The burden of sin is the universal experience of the human heart.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Ro 3:23)

Certainly, Jesus Christ has a solution for the problem of sin…

being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; (Ro 3:24)

But there are many other ways in which we find ourselves weary and heavy-laden.  Living in a fallen world is not easy.  Even after we come to Christ, life can be hard.  There is much to overcome.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Ro 8:22-25)

Fortunately, Jesus promises that if we come to Him we can find rest for our souls.  Through a close personal relationship with Christ, we can experience victory over the pressures of this world.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)

Of course, the yoke conjures up the idea of submission.  When Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you”, He is referring to a life of voluntary obedience.  It is much more than simply walking with Christ.  The yoke signifies a willingness to let Christ lead and guide.  Furthermore, we are to learn from Christ.  As a stronger, more mature ox trains the younger under the yoke, we learn of Christ.  This attitude of humble submission is not onerous, because Jesus is so gentle and humble of heart.  As we walk under His yoke, we learn new and wondrous things of Christ. His love and mercy make it a joy to follow.

“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” (Jn 14:21)

Oftentimes when we think of obedience, we think of it in correctly.  We may think it’s impossible to obey- that our nature cannot submit to God.  We might wrongly think that obedience will take all the fun out of life.  We might fear what God might require of us.  We should banish all these thoughts.  They are from the pit of hell.

Because of God’s nature, His love and mercy teach us that obedience to His will is always the best path.  Because Jesus loves us and died for us, we can trust Him with our very lives.  He knows best.  Because His yoke is easy and His burden is light, we can take His yoke upon us.  We will find rest for our weary souls. Don’t hold back in fear and doubt.  Move ahead in faith. Take His yoke upon you today.  Submit to His leadership. Walk with Him.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.^[1]

 

 

 

 

 

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^[1] All passages in this post were taken from New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)