MATTHEW 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
THEME OF THE DAY: WHAT YOKE ARE WE WEARING? In today’s scripture, there is an instrument identified that a farmer uses to lead his cattle or oxen to till his fields for planting. It is the yoke. The formal definition is a wooden harness placed across the necks of two animals to bind them together for plowing or pulling. Metaphorically, it represents submission by the livestock to the authority of the one owning both the yoke and animals. When a yoke is placed on two animals, the intent is for them to work in unity and harmony to complete the desired task the authority figure behind the yoke is guiding them to accomplish.
There is also a spiritual application found in the yoke. It is an application we make every day either intentionally or just out of our natural inclination. When we consider the spiritual yoke, it is simply the authority and guidance we are going to follow – our own or the Lord’s. I pray it is not the former but the latter. God’s will always leads us to good, though at times painful, places while seeking our wills and desires might bring satisfaction initially, it never fully delivers. So, with that introduction, let’s look at today’s theme and the two options with regard to the yoke we will wear today.
First, the yoke of Jesus. What initially sticks out is the personal emphasis. He exhorts us to “Take My yoke upon you”. He did not say, “Take any yoke upon you.” No, He pointed to Himself, and this positions us to make a choice – choose His will and authority leading our lives or reject it. By rejection, we basically are saying, “My will be done, not Yours.” Think long and hard on this truth. The decision to be led by Jesus throughout each day is a deliberate and intentional act of submission by us. In every action, attitude, and conversation, we remind ourselves we have put on Christ’s yoke and that means following the Master’s commands, desires, and will in all things. As we learn to tell ourselves this moment by moment, it radically changes the Christian life and produces consistent joy. There is no greater pleasure than to live a life of surrender to the yoke, or Lordship of Jesus.
The other choice of yokes never takes us to a good place. It is the yoke of self, and opposite everything about the Christian life. Jesus lays out, with no possible way of misunderstanding, the three demands for being His follower and all point us away from our yoke to His . . .
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).
To wear our own yoke is to refuse self-denial, avoid the pain of cross-bearing in daily life, and neglect intentional obedience to the Lord’s commands. Remember, a yoke is the instrument of submission to outside-of-self authority and guidance. If we choose the one of our own making, we live by our authority and guidance. And it is an unwise and foolish Christian who chooses to wear the wrong yoke in life!
PRAYER: Father, forgive me when I attempt to do my will along with Yours and refuse to be submit to Jesus’ yoke alone.
REFLECTION: Part of the daily battle in the Christian life is surrender of our wills to God’s will.