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Wearing Christ’s Yoke, April 4
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:30
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Wearing the yoke with Christ, means to work in His lines, to be a
copartner with Him in His sufferings and toils for lost humanity.
In accepting Christ’s yoke of restraint and obedience, you will find
that it is of the greatest help to you. Wearing this yoke keeps you near the
side of Christ, and He bears the heaviest part of the load.
The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same thing—
the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites finite man in
companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God. Lifting the cross
cuts away self from the soul, and places man where he learns how to bear
Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ without wearing His yoke,
without lifting the cross and bearing it after Him. If our will is not in
accord with the divine requirements, we are to deny our inclinations, give
up our darling desires, and step in Christ’s footsteps....
Men frame for their own necks yokes that seem light and pleasant to
wear, but they prove galling in the extreme. Christ sees this, and He says,
“Take My yoke upon you. The yoke you would place upon your own
neck, thinking it a precise fit, will not fit at all. Take My yoke upon you,
and learn of Me the lessons essential for you to learn.”
Your work is not to gather up burdens of your own.... We often think
we are having a hard time in bearing burdens, and it is too often the case,
because God has not made any provision for us to carry these burdens;
but when we bear His yoke and carry His burdens, we can testify that the
yoke of Christ is easy and His burdens are light, because He has made
provision for these.
Yet that yoke will not give us a life of ease and freedom and selfish
indulgence. The life of Christ was one of self-sacrifice and self-denial at
every step; and with consistent, Christlike tenderness and love, His true
follower will walk in the footsteps of the Master; and as he advances in
this life, he will become more and more inspired with the spirit and life of
Christ.
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