Yoked

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls: for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).

Christ's disciples are called to be yoked with their Lord. To be yoked with Christ means, at least, the following:

1. That we share with him the journey, with all its vicissitudes, i.e., that we will never be alone. By joining Christ we lose nothing, but we gain everything. If anyone loses, it is Jesus, for he would have many more important things to do than to be tied to us. But, for us, it is an immeasurable honor. He is very close to us, for he is at the other end of the yoke. He is always there, within reach of our voice, of our prayers. He wanted to "bind himself" to us, never to leave us.

2. That he will carry the greatest weight, because the biggest ox always makes the greatest strength. The weakness of the small ox is strengthened by the presence of the greater ox. So also is our relationship with Christ. He sustains us, he pulls us, especially when the road becomes steep, when the gale rages, when strength is scarce. The yoke, on our side, sometimes almost touches the ground, but on his side, it is always on top, lifting us up.

3. That we shall never lose our way. The yoke binds us to Him who knows the way, and who assures us of arriving at our destination. The new ox is restless, and rebellious. He will try to turn to the right or to the left, driven by his curiosity or by his anger, but the older ox will not follow his game. He is meek, and knows that the Father's way is the best. Sometimes we feel astray. Why? Simply because we do not allow ourselves to be guided by him.

4. Finding rest. Rest depends on meekness and humility of heart, not on the weight we carry. The yoke that Christians carry is always heavy and burdensome, because it is not the yoke of Christ. Christ's yoke is easy and his burden light. Why, does he not bear all the burdens of the world? No doubt, but it is easy because his heart is humble. Only such a heart can find all burdens light. Rest depends not on the burden but on the heart.

There are many Christians who have broken the yoke, and go solitary through the world. The Lord stayed at the same spot, waiting for them, but they have not yet returned. They have lived through countless failures, and misguidance, yet they have not yet returned to the point where they left the Lord, and the Lord waits for them. The Lord is waiting for them. When will they return? The road gets rougher and rougher, but they still have hope of making their own way. May the Lord cause them to despair so that they will no longer want to go alone, so that they will soon return to the only safe place.

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