Yoke

"Come to me, all you 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." Matthew 11:28-30

Do you fully understand what a yoke is? A yoke cannot work unless there is one ox that leads and one that submits. If there are two leading oxen they will become immobilized, because the yoke will not allow them to go in separate directions. Yet there cannot be two submitting oxen because they will just stand there and not move. I am sure you get the picture now... to be equally yoked one must follow and one must lead.

This works the same way as we follow Christ and the authorities that He has placed in our lives, be it our husbands, employers, or pastors. As the bride of Christ we must submit to Him and the life He has called us to. A life of yielding ourselves to Him.

He says take my yoke and learn from Him, and what is He? He is gentle and lowly. Am I learning that? How am I becoming gentle and lowly? Maybe I am not learning at all because I am not moving- Jesus is attempting to take me one way yet I am trying to go the other, but really we're just standing still in my disobedience.

Are you moving with Jesus, following Him and taking the time to learn from Him? Or is fear or rebellion or pride immobilizing you?

I believe we will know by the fruit our life is bearing.

Matthew 12:33-35 says, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil the treasure brings forth evil things."

What fruit is being revealed? Can you see your life producing fruit of submission or the fruit of standing still?