Occasionally the Lord opens something to me which is so garden-fresh and impacting that I think, “Wow, I must share this with everyone!”

In Matthew 11:22, Jesus invited us to “take my yoke…” As I was meditating on this, the presence of the Lord swept over me. I began to open my spirit to what He was sharing with me. We, like sheep, have gone our own way. There is a “freedom” that is an illusion. “My own way” is not freedom. Most of us have understood that from our lives before Christ. And, most of us have encountered it, often painfully, during failures in our sincere efforts to live for Jesus!

My mind went to Paul’s words to the Galatians, “you cannot do the things that you would” (Gal. 5:17). The idea of false freedom began to come into focus. False freedom is the illusion that I am in charge. It ultimately produces frustration, failure and fruitlessness. The illusion of freedom and control will eventually end in anarchy with no one or no principles that effectively govern. (See Romans 1:21-32)

I saw Christ offering us His Father to enjoy in relationship as He enjoys. I seemed to be able to hear the Lord saying: “Your Father and My Father.”

Oh, the beauty of what follows: to put our heads and necks into the yoke of the Kingdom. That yoke takes us to a freedom that is authentic, workable, and yields the fruit of true freedom. His freedom is not a burden, but “light and easy.” It is born out of a relationship of love, grace and intimacy.

Jesus’ calling was heavy, but love for His Father made his own journey “light and easy”. Paul, who embraced the same yoke, wanted to say: It really works! He chose to use the same Greek word for “light” that Jesus used. Paul’s personal witness:

For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!]. So we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting. 2 Cor. 4:17-18

The yoke of Christ promises an eternal weight of glory! I would encourage each of you to request Christ to reveal to you the yoke you presently carry. Is it heavy? Are you carrying the yoke of your own expectations? The expectations of others? Your church? Your own idea of what a “good” Christian is? If it is heavy, my prayer for you is that you would tell Him you are willing to embrace HIS YOKE.

Agape,

Bob Mumford