“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)
The task of following Christ is not for the faint of heart. It’s a lifestyle of intensive discipleship as our character is transformed into the character of Christ. How, then, does Jesus invite his followers to take upon themselves an easy yoke and a light burden? What’s so “easy” and “light” about embracing a lifestyle of intensive discipleship? I believe it has to do with the fact that when we learn to follow Christ, we learn to abandon the project of building, protecting and defending “The Kingdom of Me”. We no longer have an agenda that we need to maintain at all costs. We lay down our agenda when we pick up our cross. That’s why countless Christians around the globe can be persecuted and killed for their faith, and go down not cursing, but singing. They aren’t afraid to die because they have already died to their own agenda. They have already abandoned the building project of their own kingdom. They have already discovered “the pearl of great price” for which they are gladly willing to abandon all other pursuits. This is what yields the lifestyle that Jesus described as an easy yoke and a light burden. The Baby of Bethlehem was born in a stable and placed in a manger for a reason. Had he come as a wealthy and powerful king he would have reproduced followers who would dedicate their lives to the accumulation of wealth and the pursuit of power. Instead, he came as a helpless baby, born in poverty, that he might reproduce followers who renounce the manipulative power-mongering tactics of this world and instead pursue peacemaking, humility, and sacrificial love in the beauty of joyful obedience. He came to call those who would gladly renounce their own personal kingdom-building agenda, taking his yoke upon themselves and learning to become more like him. Jesus still invites us to take his yoke upon ourselves. When we are thus yoked to Jesus, he sets the agenda, he establishes the direction, he determines the pace. All we need to do is stay under the yoke and to keep on walking, lovingly, trustingly, joyfully. In doing so we become more like him, reflecting his character before a watching world that desperately needs to catch a glimpse of the real Jesus made visible in the lives of those who belong to him. Our assignment, should we choose to accept it, is to place ourselves under this easy yoke and this light burden and to allow them to accomplish their work in us, allowing Christ to be formed in us more fully. It’s the only way we’re ever going to have the kind of impact on this world that Jesus calls us to have. It’s how we shine brightly in a dark place. It’s how we point to a future that is not yet but soon will be. It’s how we become people who radiate joy and hope in a world that is characterized by futility and despair. It’s how and why we celebrate Christmas, inviting others to celebrate along with us. It’s how we show the world a better way. As we celebrate the birth of the Savior, let’s not neglect his invitation to take his yoke upon ourselves and to learn of him. Then we will learn by experience that, despite the demands of intensive discipleship, and despite the hardships, difficulties and disappointments of this life, his yoke is truly easy, and his burden is truly light.
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