Take My Yoke

Jesus came teaching the good news of His Father´s kingdom.  People needed to know there was something better out there.  This was how it was then, and how it is now.  We see the situation around us and struggle to imagine a different and perfect order of things. One completely apart from what we know and see.

We rarely give it enough importance. But Christ came to us from a different reality, a different realm. This had to be very disappointing for Jesus, who came from His Father´s side. He knew all that this “other kingdom” should mean for us.  God has dealt with this problem in His children throughout the ages.  The Bible often expresses God´s frustration with our lack of faith in His kingdom. Why can´t we see that that kingdom is more important than our own?

Jesus sees that the burden of living here in our world is sometimes unsupportable.  We must be on our guard against innumerable threats and difficulties.  We could be tempted to think that Jesus will wipe away all that is afflicting us, easing our pain and suffering.  But that is not what Jesus is saying. He is offering us a different burden, or “yoke.”  A yoke may not be the burden itself, but it ties us to it so that we bear the weight. He joins us in that yoke.

Our Savior offers us the burden He carries of living for His Father´s kingdom.  We need to trust Him. He tells us to look to Him and learn from Him. Where human reason cannot help us, Jesus is our Guide.  Let´s take Him for His word.

Jesus says that His burden is light. This is not because He did not carry great burdens. It is not because He did not suffer more than we can imagine. It is because He is there to help us support them. It is because we will have divine help. He can say His burdens are light because they lift us up and not down. They will take us from where we are and lead us to the Father.

Dear Jesus, give us today a different burden from the heavy ones we have been trying to carry.  Please let us learn from you and shift our struggles towards higher and lighter goals.  Tie us to this new burden for our God. We will be happy to know we carry a burden for You.  So please show us how to lay down our burdens and take up our yoke with You today! Walk with us, we pray. And show us the joys of living for Your kingdom and not ours. Amen

John 18:36 ESV / Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Luke 17:20-21 ESV / Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Romans 14:17 ESV / For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 15:50 ESV / I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Philippians 3:20 ESV / But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,