I Choose to Learn

Matt. 11: 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart

It is not just a today thing. Pride and self-will have been a part of human nature for a long time. I remember one singer that touted, “Don’t test, don’t test; for a me take the S off-a Superman chest”. Long before that another one sang, “I took it all and I stood tall, and did it my way”. Good ol’ Nebuchadnezzar some 2500 years ago, looked at the City of Babylon and bragged, “Is not this great Babylon that I have built for my glory?” Yes, the “I, me and my”, brag-and-boast thing is a part of us. That is why some people won’t be happy with today’s text.

In the Middle East in the time of Old Israel, and even today people would use cows (oxen) to plow the land. They would put these animals side by side and then put a yoke, a wooden thing, over their necks which would force them to walk side by side and in the direction that the farmer wanted. Because of this, the yoke came to represent servitude – saying that you are somebody’s servant. When kings went out to war and they conquered their enemies, they made them walk under a yoke to say to them, “you are now my slaves”.

So what did Jesus mean when He said to His followers, “take My yoke upon you”? He meant that we had to get rid of the pride and self-will and become humble followers of God. And this is hard! We like to feel we are in control and the idea of being a servant, directed by somebody else doesn’t make us feel good. The truth is though, that the yoke doesn’t so much mean servitude (forced labour) but discipline. It kept the plow animals walking together so that they could synchronize and work more effectively together. Each one could reach its fuller potential.

The yoke of Christ determines our behavior but we are free to choose it. We serve Him, not because we are forced to, but because we love Him and we trust Him. We also know that serving Him is a daily learning experience where we overcome the handicap of pride and self-will and become free to achieve our greatest potential. Take the yoke. It is a good thing.

Dear Lord, I know that serving You calls for discipline and humility. Place Your yoke on me today that I might become all that I can be, in Jesus’ name, amen.