“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

            An ox does not choose his yoke.  It is placed on him and he has to get to work, dragging a plow behind him, working hours and hours on end.  If he does not, he will become an ex-ox.

            We can choose our own yoke.  Our yoke is a culmination of burdens:

·         The past and all the hurts we experienced.

·         The present and all the needs we must face.

·         The future and all the plans we want to conquer.

That’s a lot to carry.  Jesus offers his own yoke to us.

·         He has forgiven the past so we don’t have to worry about that.

·         He promises to be with us and not leave us, so he shares in carrying our own burden in our lives.

·         He knows the plans that he has for us and guides us to that future.

It’s not that Jesus’ yoke isn’t time-consuming, hard work or effortless, but it’s not done alone, plus it has purpose and meaning.  That always makes the burden go faster when we have someone right beside us and he’s making sure we get it done.

Let go of your yoke and take on Jesus’ yoke.