In the Yoke

My wife and I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, so it was a very common for us to see the Amish community in that area live their very distinctive life. The quaint horse and buggies that are used for transportation is not something I tire of seeing. It amazes me that they can be so committed to a way of living that is so foreign for the rest of society.

I will never forget the day I was driving down a country road in Chester County, Pennsylvania and I saw an Amish farmer plowing his field with a team of six mules. The mules were yoked together in teams of two all pulling an eight-bottom plow. Modern day farming is quite noisy and a bit dirty with the sound of the diesel tractor, the soot of the exhaust and the dust kicked up by the pace of the plowing. What struck me that day was how quiet it was as this hard-working Amish farmer directed his “6-horse-power” tractor down the rows of the field. Each mule, a cross between the strength of working horse and the stubbornness of a donkey, yoked together were working in tandem getting the job done with only the occasional sound of the metal plow turning over a stone in the field.

Yokes are really important for the successful working of farming done with the methods of yesteryear, aren’t they? Did you know that our Lord’s yoke is essential for the flourishing of our lives as people of faith. Don’t take my word for it! It was Jesus who said,

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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 your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”-Matthew 11:28-30 (NASV ‘95).

Our Lord’s invitation to His followers to come to Him is an invitation to internal spiritual soul rest. Life lived apart from the Lord will eventually bring about a soul weariness and burden too heavy to bear. His invitation to come is directed to those of us who are tired of trying to do life as a little boy or girl who confidently says, “Look, Dad, I did it all by myself!” Are you weary and burdened down today? He invites us to come and find true rest of soul in Him.

Not only is the Lord’s call to come an invitation to internal soul rest, but notice with me, it is also an invitation to intimate spiritual relationship with Him. Our Lord’s encouragement to “take my yoke upon you and learn from Me” takes on deep significance in light of my experience watching those mules yoked together pulling that eight-bottom plow. A yoke is designed for two! The yoke Jesus invites us to take already has Him in the one side of the yoke. The intimate relationship that we can have together in the yoke with Him is a life-long journey of rest. The genius of the yoke of two is that often the more experienced mule is paired with the less experienced mule and thus there is an intimate learning that takes place with the shared work of the yoke. What a picture of our Lord’s longing to have intimate spiritual relationship with us! He promises that in the yoke with Him you will find Him gentle and humble in heart and you will also find deep rest in your soul—deep internal spiritual rest in Him. The walk of faith with Jesus is not a stressful, wearisome walk. It is a daily intimate relational walk next to Him in His yoke and experience His rest!

Not only is the Lord’s call to come an invitation to internal spiritual soul rest, and an intimate spiritual relationship with Him, but notice with me finally, it is an ironic spiritual reality with Him. I use the term “ironic” purposefully due to the fact that Jesus promises that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That is not the normal definition of a yoke, or a burden is it!? Yokes are hard instruments of labor and burdens are by definition heavy. In the yoke with Jesus, we experience the truth of this ironic reality as we go through the normal twists and turns of life and experience the wonderful times and horrible times of our lives all mixed together. Life in the yoke with Jesus becomes mysteriously easy and light because by His power and presence, we get to do it together!

There is only one condition to experience life in the yoke with Jesus! Come! Listen to His call to you today! He gave up His life for us that we might find rest to our souls. He invites us to enjoy forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him. It starts the moment we “come” and every day that we continue to “come!” It surely beats the stress and failure of “look, I did it all by myself!”

Dr. David Ley is the President of Alaska Bible College and Pastor of Family Care, ChangePoint Mat-Su.