… and learn from me

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
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.
(Matthew 11:28-30)

In my blog post on Monday, we thought about Jesus’ invitation to take His yoke upon us, to help us to carry the mental and emotional loads of life safely. But there is a second part to His invitation. In Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.”
 
Yokes are wonderful inventions to help oxen to carry heavy loads safely, but they also serve another purpose. A young ox who is new to the job of ploughing and carrying doesn’t know what it is doing, so they will yoke the little ox to an older, stronger, and more experienced ox. The big ox will walk the path they know well, and the younger ox will be led alongside them with the help of the yoke.
 
When Jesus invites us to yoke with Him, not only is He offering to help us to carry our loads, but He is inviting us to learn from Him. Sometimes, often without even noticing, we start to carry burdens that aren’t good for us to carry. Holding a grudge can turn into a really heavy load, and so can the weight of feeling like somehow we need to earn God’s love or earn our salvation, or somehow we are responsible for fixing everything. Jesus says, “my burden is light.” He doesn’t ask us to carry the load of judgement, or to try to plough our way into eternal life by being perfect, or figure out how to fix everything. While He was on earth, Jesus showed us what it looked like to live a life yoked to God, His Father in Heaven. He prayed, listened, obeyed, gentle and humble in heart, without sin.
 
Are we carrying loads that God doesn’t intend for us to carry? Do we need to re-yoke to Jesus who can show us the way?
 
Prayer - Lord Jesus, You know the way. We’re sorry for the times when we have not followed Your gentle and humble ways. We’re sorry for the times when we have carried loads of judgement, unforgiveness and bitterness. Help us to lay down these burdens and instead stay safely yoked to You. Amen.
 
Photography by Fraser Hall, Massachusetts, New England, USA