“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30

On a recent visit to Kayunga District, I got an opportunity to see oxen at work in the garden.

What I particularly found impressive was how the two strong and well-built oxen were being handled by a frail old man as they did the heavy work of working together to pull the plow from one end of the field to another.

Moving behind the cows as he works the heavy hoe into the soil, the old man kept shouting out instructions to the oxen to stop, to move faster or to turn around.

How people have managed to make ‘dumb’ animals like oxen so submitted to their master was really impressive.

Indeed, human beings have used oxen and other animals in agriculture for thousands of years.

It’s an incredible job of taming animals to quickly do work that would otherwise have taken human beings a lot of effort and time to complete.

In our meditation today, Jesus was talking to people who were familiar with the use of yoked oxen in agriculture.

In the Old Testament, the ‘yoke’ was often used figuratively to describe bondage (see Isaiah 10:27; Jer. 28:10).

However, Jesus used it metaphorically to refer to submission to His authority for His service.

But unlike the onerous yokes of bondage and servitude, Christ says His yoke is “easy” or kind.

There is still an open invitation to anyone who doesn’t harden his heart: “Come to me!” He says.

Our contemporary worldly systems are organized in ways that put heavy loads and yokes on people – unbreakable addictions and habits, destructive cravings and passions, religious obligations, subjugation to selfish human masters, among others. 

In our meditation today, Jesus made that great invitation after pronouncing judgment on several towns in Galilee – Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida – which had witnessed the Messiah and His miracles first hand but still rejected Him.

“Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest,” says our Lord and Saviour.

That implies that true respite for the soul can only be found in God’s grace by being submitted to and learning from Christ.

His yoke is light and easy to handle unlike the worldly yokes.

Has your soul been carrying heavy religious loads and looking for a reprieve or inner rest?  Now you know where and how to find it. Numerous testimonies abound of people who have experienced this rest.

Can you imagine what our world would be like if everyone would come to Christ, embrace His light yoke and learn from His meekness and simplicity?

Yes, it is all within your grasp if you simply come to Him as you are, choose to carry the cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23).

There is still an open invitation to anyone who doesn’t harden his heart: “Come to me!” He says.

Prayer:

Almighty God, come into my life and give me rest. Help me to always be submitted to You and to be Your disciple who is always ready and willing to learn from you. In Your Name I pray, Amen!