The Easy Yoke

Matthew 11:28-30. "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."

We love our independence. Freedom is a cherished value. And while there are many benefits that go along with freedom, there can be a downside. Paul puts his finger on that in his letter to the Galatians when he says, “do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.” So we need to be careful that in our high regard for independence we don’t place ourselves and our self-interests above everything else, lest we think like a child who says, “I can do whatever I want – it’s a free country.”

Jesus shows us another way. He says, in effect, “Use your freedom to make an important choice – a choice to put on my yoke.” Now the idea of having a yoke around our neck like an ox is far from appealing. But voluntarily subjecting our freedom to one who loves us and knows what’s best for us starts to sound better. The fact is, we all put a yoke of one kind or another around our necks. It might be debt, or materialism, or quest for popularity, or desire to look attractive. It constrains us. We think we are free, but we’re not.

Jesus’ yoke is easy. It’s easy because he uses it to guide us toward what is best for us. His burden is easy for the same reason. I know from experience that the other yokes I’ve worn around are a lot harder than the one Jesus offers me. His fits fine and in fact feels real good.