APR 25

Matthew 11:28-30
Memorise Matthew 11:29
"…Submission to Christ will give us true joy, peace and rest for our souls…"

ARE YOU WILLING TO SUBMIT TO CHRIST?

A yoke is a wooden beam that is placed across the heads or the shoulders of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull a load. It is used often in the Bible metaphorically to represent a burden. Christ uses the term in this passage to speak of submission to Him as bearing His yoke. It means to accept Him as our Lord and Saviour and to live according to His will. It involves a spirit of meekness and humility fashioned after Christ Himself as our Master is "meek and lowly in heart". The servant is not above his Master. Jesus then makes a seemingly paradoxical statement when He calls His yoke easy and light to bear. However, we realize that this is not a contradiction when we consider how submission to Christ actually frees us from many grevious burdens. Firstly, we are freed from the slavery of sin and can now choose not to sin when once we could not do anything but sin. Secondly, we are freed from being under the law and God’s judgment. The Pharisees in Jesus’ time had loaded the people with countless laws that were like weights that were too heavy to bear. Thirdly, previously we had to bear our burdens and sufferings alone but now as we submit to God’s will, He will enable us to overcome our sufferings and will not let us go through anything that we cannot bear with His help (1 Corinthians 10:13). Jesus promises us "rest unto our souls" if we submit to Him. The rest He gives is a true, refreshing rest that will strengthen and nourish our souls.    

Submission to Christ may seem like a yoke or burden at face value but if we think about it, we can see that Christ is right in saying that "His yoke is easy, and His burden is light". If we consider the yoke of not submitting to Christ, we realize that it is far heavier to bear. If we do not believe in Christ as our Saviour, we would be suffering under the burden of trying to perform good works to earn our way into salvation, instead of freely doing good works to please God and show love to our fellow men. If we do not submit to God’s approved way of doing things, we find that the consequences and guilt of sinning is like a millstone around our necks. Submission to Christ, on the other hand, will give us true joy, peace and rest for our souls.

Thought: Ask yourself truthfully whether you are willingly submitting to Christ in your life.
Prayer: Grant me meekness and humility to submit to Thee, Lord.