Take My Yoke Upon You

Yesterday at Calvary, Reverend Polk preached a wonderful message on Matthew 11:28-30, in which Jesus proclaims, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Two observations that he made which I found to be quite helpful were the following:

"We labor in Christ not hoping for some great reward, but because that great reward is already ours, not on the grounds of our works, but because of the faith he has already generated in our minds and hearts. We labor not because we’e anxious, but because we’re grateful, and that makes keeping the law a pleasure and not a burden."

and

"As Christians we are called to serve Christ in our lives as individuals, but we are also called to serve him together...The yoke Jesus speaks of not only binds us to him and his purposes individually, but it also binds us to one another."

These two facts inform how we are to respond to the grace of God, both in how we relate to him and in how we relate to each other. May the Lord use these truths in our hearts and minds this week to conform us to the image of Christ.