Jesus calls: "Come to Me, all you 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"(Matt 11:28-30).
Jesus' yoke is easier than sin. We have all felt the heavy weight of our own guilt. Our shameful past haunts us and follows us. Along with David we must say "my sin is always before me"(Psalm 51:3). Not so with Jesus! Under His yoke we have freedom from sin and all its consequences (Rom 8:2, 6).
Jesus' yoke is easier than pleasing people. Often our lives focus on satisfying everyone around us, from boss to family to friends. Yet for all our effort we always fall short. People differ tremendously and constantly change. Not so with Jesus! "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever"(Heb 13:8). With God "there is no variation or shadow of turning"(James 1:17).
Jesus' yoke is easier than tradition. Jesus condemned the Pharisees because they had "made the commandment of God of no effect by (their) tradition"(Matt 15:6). Tradition is a heavy burden that can draw us away from God. It is no surprise that many creed books are thicker than the New Testament. Paul fretted that "your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ"(2 Cor 11:3). Jesus' yoke is not the simplicity of free-wheeling, anything-goes morality. It's the simplicity of "What Jesus says is all I need to know."
Are you under His yoke-or some other? ___Jacob Hudgins