04 March 2021

Labour

 

One of my favourite Bible verses is Matthew 11:28: 'Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened because My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'

Words of Jesus.

In those days in the Holy Land it was common for a working farm animal like an ox to be yoked up with an older ox so the younger ox could learn how to work correctly. If they were both pulling in the same direction, the yoke should sit easy on their shoulders/necks. I gather Jesus' words were meant to conjure up a picture of an individual being yoked to Him, ie doing life His way, meaning that it would be much better for us to do so than pulling against Him all the time.

God lets us do things our own way but the invitation is there to come to Him and do things His way: invitation with a promise that it will be better for us. He doesn't force us into anything. The decision is ours. We can either labour on with life hoping we're right or we can chuck in our lot with God and live life His way, thus experiencing an 'easy yoke and 'lighter burden'. 

(The word labour also made me think of a donkey which is  often described as a beast of burden. So I had a very pleasant few minutes looking up donkey pictures on the Internet. Enjoy.)

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