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“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.” Matthew 11:28-30
When I lived with my parents on the edge of the San Vicente River in Chiapas, Mexico the road to the village of Lazaro Cardenes went right through the mission property. The main mode of transportation was a creaky, wooden cart pulled by two oxen. The river ford was in our back yard so I got to see plenty of teams come down the dirt road, descend the bank and cross the river. If I recall correctly, most of these oxen were yoked together with leather strapping around their horns which fastened to a bar from the cart.
I remember one afternoon I’d gone with my daddy to Chicomoselo to see about buying brick for the first mission building and the pickup truck got stuck in the middle of the river. (The men learned by experience that you don’t just take someone’s word for where the ford is, you walk the river and figure it out before crossing!) The engine quit and my friend and I were baling water with a waste can from the floorboard of her dad’s truck. Someone came by with their ox team, which they unhitched from their cart and fastened to our truck. Working in unison it didn’t take the oxen long to pull us out of the water.
 
In giving His invitation Jesus spoke from His experience as a skilled carpenter. He no doubt learned from his father Joseph how to carve and smooth the wood to make a yoke. A good yoke was made for a particular team out of light, durable wood. It fit perfectly and didn’t rub. “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 you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
As I picture Jesus’ meaning I view myself as struggling along life’s road with a heavy pack on my back, or with a hoe in my hand trying to cultivate a vast field. Burdened with the weight of worry, seeking to work for God but ending up with an achy back and a discouraged heart, I stumble and fall under the load I’m carrying. Jesus beckons to me, pointing to the double yoke, and invites me to join up with Him. He promises the yoke is easy and His burden is light. I can choose to pull with Him or continue my struggles alone.
Rest sounds super inviting to me! Letting Him handle my worries and fears; allowing His hand to remove the burden of guilt and self-striving has made a huge difference in my life. I am awed that He wants to be yoked with me! He is humble, unashamed to be seen with me! Jesus enjoys talking with me and I have learned so much as we work together. Besides, He pulls the heaviest part of the load.
The yoke is a symbol Jesus used to illustrate salvation. Jesus left His position in the courts of heaven to become a man and experience the toil and trials of life on earth and to be tempted by Satan to the uttermost. Jesus bore the sins of the world and this broke His heart. He lived a righteous life without sinning and His perfect character He offers to me. I need not strive to be perfect, labor to be whole, or struggle to complete my journey. I can yoke up with Christ and accept the abundant life He offers. The burden He gives me is one of praise, service with sacrifice, and a desire to bless others. In my soul I have peace and rest. Walking along side my Master means I’m never alone. I know Jesus loves me and gives me joy.
“The Lord calls His yoke easy and His burden light. 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, Christ like tenderness and love, His true follower will walk in the footsteps of the Master. As he advances in this life he will become more and more inspired with the spirit and life of Christ.”
(E. G. White in Signs of the Times April 16, 1912)
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