An Easy Yoke and Light Burden

Have you ever felt like following Jesus was like navigating a path that is slippery, filled with deep pot holes and often blocked by fallen trees? You are not alone. Following Jesus is a long journey and it is hard. Jesus said if we are weary and heavy laden to come to Him and He will give us rest. As I thought about Jesus giving me rest, my mind finished that set of verses which says, "for my yoke is easy and my burden light." I often focus on three words in this passage, REST, EASY, LIGHT. I forget about two of the other words that are at least equally as important. Those words are YOKE and BURDEN. The yoke may be easy and Jesus does carry the vast majority of the weight, but it is still a yoke. A yoke indicates a harness to guide you in the direction of the one controlling the work. In other words, when you 'hook up' with Jesus under His yoke, you lose your life and give Him control. This is a good thing and He does take on the majority of the work (we need to cooperate) but it still a yoke that in some ways restricts us (we should be slaves to righteousness). The other word is burden. His burden is indeed light, but a burden none the less. In part, this burden is to take the good news to the poor souls who are not yet following Jesus Christ. I need to be more burdened. I'm very blessed to be able to struggle on this journey of life filled with potholes, branches and mud under the yoke of Jesus, carrying His light burden to the world and to do it with a whole bunch of GREAT people. The Jesus community that I'm a part of are very persevering, loving and Jesus focused. These people help me to stay on the Journey - thanks Jesus for your genius called Church.