2020 Daily Devotion - Day 72
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, 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.”
In the days of Jesus, the Jewish believer saw their faith as a burden of rules. And they were cumbersome rules; regulations that dictated every aspect of their lives. So, when Jesus says “come to me those who carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest” – it was very liberating for those who would.
In our time, we might be coming from a different perspective. Being weary and carrying heavy burdens might be more about living in a quarantine over these past many weeks – a time filled with anxiety and fear. Also, the burdens could be economic or health related. And so, we hear Jesus’ words from a different outlook, but they can still be very liberating. To know there is someone stronger than we, to whom we can go, can set us free.
But then He invites us to take His “yoke” upon us……for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. What could He mean? Well, in Jesus’ time a yoke is what draped over an ox so they could plow a field. However, it turns out that when they made the yoke for oxen, the animals were measured. And then when placed on the ox, the yoke was adjusted to fit. In other words, the yoke was custom fit for each individual ox, and therefore, not a burden, but easy on the animal.
So, what Jesus is really saying is what He gives you to do, will not be a burden. He gives you and me grace and love, not rules and regulations. His burden is light because all He asks us to do is out of His great unconditional love He has for us.
Pray with me:
Jesus, we thank You for not giving us more rules to follow. You came to set us free through Your love and forgiveness. Now, we serve You, not because we hope to deserve anything, but only out of a response of thankfulness for Your grace. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
In the days of Jesus, the Jewish believer saw their faith as a burden of rules. And they were cumbersome rules; regulations that dictated every aspect of their lives. So, when Jesus says “come to me those who carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest” – it was very liberating for those who would.
In our time, we might be coming from a different perspective. Being weary and carrying heavy burdens might be more about living in a quarantine over these past many weeks – a time filled with anxiety and fear. Also, the burdens could be economic or health related. And so, we hear Jesus’ words from a different outlook, but they can still be very liberating. To know there is someone stronger than we, to whom we can go, can set us free.
But then He invites us to take His “yoke” upon us……for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. What could He mean? Well, in Jesus’ time a yoke is what draped over an ox so they could plow a field. However, it turns out that when they made the yoke for oxen, the animals were measured. And then when placed on the ox, the yoke was adjusted to fit. In other words, the yoke was custom fit for each individual ox, and therefore, not a burden, but easy on the animal.
So, what Jesus is really saying is what He gives you to do, will not be a burden. He gives you and me grace and love, not rules and regulations. His burden is light because all He asks us to do is out of His great unconditional love He has for us.
Pray with me:
Jesus, we thank You for not giving us more rules to follow. You came to set us free through Your love and forgiveness. Now, we serve You, not because we hope to deserve anything, but only out of a response of thankfulness for Your grace. In Your precious name we pray. Amen.
Yours because of Him,
Pastor John R. Steward
Senior Pastor
Mount of Olives Church
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