Is The "YOKE" On You?

There was this guy…  he was a hot mess. Arrogant, self-centered, cruel, oblivious to the needs of everyone else, focused only on what he had to gain and often at the expense of others. He was heartless… the polar opposite of my definition of love. There was literally no hope that he could be the kind of man I would seek… for anything… other than shark bait.

But God… * there is always something really good coming after a “but God,” so keep reading…

God saw his potential. God saw his pain. God saw what he could become, if he would be willing to yoke himself to Jesus and walk through life with Him. So Jesus reached out and said, “Come with me.” And his plea was so compelling, His eyes were so tender, His gesture so inviting that Matthew went with Him.

Jesus never said to Matthew, “Let’s get you on the right path; let’s get you cleaned up; let’s get your debts all paid, let’s do some transforming… so that you are worthy to come with me.” At least if he did, it didn’t get recorded in scripture. Nor did those lines ever appear in red in the Bible. Regarding anyone at all. And if you read enough about Jesus, you know that wasn’t His way.

Jesus knew that if Matthew simply walked beside Him, he would be transformed. Why? Well, there is the fact that Jesus was performing miracles and when you have seen a few of those, it tends to reshape you. And there is the fact that Jesus was always teaching and it is good to teach your way through adversity and challenge. But I believe that Jesus knew that Matthew’s hard heart could be transformed by the power of love. God is LOVE. Jesus is God, in the flesh, therefore, Jesus, too, is love. And love is the most transformative force on Earth.

This is about to get personal. Is there someone in your life… or in your home… or in your bed… that is so much less than you want them to be? Are they failing to see and meet your needs? Are you fed up, tired, lonely? Perhaps you are even tossing around what life would look like without that person and considering divorce a viable option to end your pain. Maybe that is something you would never do, so instead you live in despair. Wishing things were different. Perhaps you have begged God to change them. Maybe you have tried to manipulate things in order to be loved by them. And in your pain, you have built walls to protect yourself. Now the walls are so thick, you can’t even imagine truly loving them like you once did.

Jesus taught us how to correct these struggles. Matthew was His subject; a hardened man, beyond the reach of any human remedy. But Jesus knew that if Matthew would allow Jesus to love him as they walked through life together, change would come. You may have noticed… we aren’t Jesus. Our default setting is typically to cut off the supply of love when someone hurts us. I mean, why would you snuggle up to a hangry grizzly bear? Rather, we tend to give them… lavishly, what we feel they have coming! And, so far that method has never saved a marriage or any relationship. So, it really is time to do this thing God’s way.

Matthew learned. Matthew changed. He explains this transformation by telling us what Jesus told him and others who would follow him. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light.”

Maybe it is time that you allow Jesus to place His yoke on your shoulders. When we say YES to following Jesus but continue to do life our own way, it NEVER ends well. That yoke is what we need. It keeps us close to Him so that we are continually learning from His teaching. His love will transform us and make our burdens so very much lighter.

Perhaps it is time for you to take another look at the one you have promised to be yoked to, for life. Are you staying close or building walls? Is your gentleness and humility inviting and beautiful to them? It is easy to use that matrimonial yoke to manipulate, push, pull, tug, and beat them into a mold you have for them, but it will never bring about the loving relationship you seek. Nobody wants to be yoked to a nag or a grizzly bear. If you are properly yoked to Jesus, learning from Him, He will show you how to be properly yoked to your spouse. It won’t happen overnight. Learning from Him is a process. Transformation is a process. But don’t give up! Your journey will be so much richer if you will simply “come to Jesus” and take His yoke, as Matthew did. It changed him for life. It will change you, too.