A funny thing happened today. My preacher gave a really good sermon. This is a rare occurrence since, being a Methodist pastor, he tends to tone things down in order to keep people happy and safe inside their comfort zones. But today, however, he decided otherwise and, in doing so, provided me with some very stimulating thoughts. Before I go further, I'll share the scripture upon which his sermon was based...
"At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except by the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, fr I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:25-30
Needless to say, I've read this scripture many times and heard a great number of well-educated servants of God preach on these words, but today they took on a very real and refreshingly new meaning.
The point he made that I wish to convey to you can best be summed up in the following metaphor (keep in mind, I'm not sure about the accuracy of my numbers, but these are the ones he gave me):
Alone, one strong horse can pull roughly 2 tons. Another horse pulling along with the second horse can add an additional two tons. However, if the two horses doing the pulling are harnessed together, combining the forces of their pulling, the team is able to manage somewhere around 18 tons. This is a classic example of synergy, the idea that two or more entities can accomplish a greater task when working in cooperation than when functioning separately to achieve the same goal.
I am a horse. I can pull a fair amount of weight in the form of stress, fears, struggles, guilt and, of course, sin. While I can handle this burden up to a point, there comes a time when I realize that the weight I'm pulling around behind me is too heavy. It's at that point that I realize I need somebody else to help me pull, so I turn to Christ. Things get easier, yes, but it seems like even with Christ pulling along with me that the weight of my sin remains too strong.
Why is this? I've been asking myself that question during hard times all my life (or at least for that part which I was able to comprehend God's existence and my own salvation). Today, I think I caught a glimpse of the answer! Salvation isn't just about admitting our weakness and our need for Christ's help in pulling the weight. The acceptance of grace is also the acceptance of total submission to Christ's yoke.
So frequently, Christians take on Christ's yoke thinking that things are going to get easier -- that problems are going to disappear and the burden will shrink down. That's not necessarily true. In fact, often the opposite happens, because Satan likes to turn up the heat when we take steps in the right direction. Since accepting Christ and making an effort to turn from sinful habits, it's been that much more difficult because of an overwhelming increase in temptation. What has to happen is for us to realize that taking on the yoke of Christ doesn't imply that we will be able to leave behind our struggles, but rather that we will be harnessed to a much stronger, more capable horse. Thinking back to our metaphor, if two equally powerful horses can go from 4 tons to 18 simply by being harnessed together, then how much greater of a burden will we be able to handle when we team up with a horse that has pulled the weight of the world?
Perhaps what Christ was really trying to say was not "Take up my yoke and your burdens will grow lighter." If I had to guess, I'd say it's really more like "Take up my yoke and I will join you to become infinitely stronger than your burdens." Looking at things from this perspective, it's a lot easier for me to understand how life can seem so overwhelming when I'm separated from Christ. Living in sin, the state in which our human nature (not only our actions) make us unworthy of God's presence in our lives, is the equivalent to taking the yoke that binds us to Christ and casting it off. In doing so, we are left to pull a tremendous burden alone. The superior alternative, living in synergy, enables us to truly "do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Agape,
Joe
P.S. -- I would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers for myself and for my family. In the past few weeks my grandfather has had a bout of sickness that put him in the hospital. He's home now and doing much better, thank God. However, his moods continue to change due to his dementia and his physical abilities have been sporadic due to his Parkinson's. This is taxing on my whole family, especially my parents. Additionally, I continue to receive less than hopeful updates from the financial aid office at Wake Forest, and it appears that I will be carrying a considerably larger amount of debt for the coming year. I hate to complain about such trivial things as money in times like my college years when I feel so blessed, but I know that prayer is powerful and that God moves in amazing ways when His believers join together in faith. I look forward to seeing you all again in August. You guys mean the world to me and I lift up each and every one of you as my brothers and sisters in Christ. Agape again!
5 comments:
good words
I'll be praying for you.
Hey man,
Just a quick reminder that God is in full control and totally working everything out for your good. I know it is sometimes hard to see, but God is there through it all, and he will give you the faith you need to sustain you through these trials.
On another note, I find with the analogy of the cart, its more like I'm adding to the weight, and Christ is pulling me along with the weight. It's all from Him, I'm contributing nothing except more weight! (I see it as Monergism, for there is nothing I can add in the work of sanctification, it's all from God). What amazing grace!
I'm glad to hear that your pastor is not afraid to step on any toes, but it seems that this interpretation is not in line with what the rest of scripture teaches.
In the context of this passage, Jesus is speaking in direct contradiction to what you are saying. His point is that religion and the Pharisees attempt to work their way to righteousness and it is a wearisome and impossible task. In contrast, Jesus offers righteousness freely through his sacrifice. We are not horses, and that’s just the point. Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteousness is as dirty rags, literally menstrual rags. Paul, perhaps the one who could pull the most of his own sin if anyone could, a Pharisee among Pharisees, told the Philippians that his righteousness was garbage without Christ and he was worthless apart from him, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (3:9).
Christ said exactly what he meant to say, he was quite the orator, “Take my yoke upon you…and you will find rest for your souls.” Precisely because we can do nothing apart from him, he did everything for us. He is not only just, he is the justifier (Rom 3), and as such we live only through him, and he will never leave us.
You and your family will be in my prayers,
Soli Deo Gloria
While I don't think this is necessarily the place for deep, theological discussions--they are best reserved for the classroom, the bible study room, the living room and even the dorm room (right, Joe?), I think that there is a bottom line here that needs to be recognized, regardless of any metaphors that are presented.
That bottom line is the fact that we MUST depend on Christ to take our burdens, and sins, and cleanse from all unrighteousness. Regardless of how strong we are emotionally, mentally, or spiritually, we are still lowly humans, saved only by God's grace. We must remember that we are nothing without Him. I think that the last commenter has this right, and maybe misunderstood some of Joe's (or the minister's) comments. Regardless, if we lean on Christ (however hard it may be), we will be better for it, because He has everything planned out for us and will provide for what is right, in His time, as His will dictates (yes, there is some Reformed theology going in this statement!).
The last line in the previous post reminds me of two incredible statements presented by the amazing musician, Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach opened most every piece the he wrote by writing J.J. in the manuscript. This represents the Latin, Jesu Juva, which means "O Jesus, help me!" As Bach called on Christ to help him every time he wrote a piece for organ or other medium, we should know that we need to call on Christ to take our every burden, because He will. And only He can handle it all! And, Bach also closed each work by writing S.D.G. As the previous poster wrote, it stands for Soli Deo gloria, "To God alone be the glory." May be always remember Bach's important lesson--it's about God, and not us!
Blessings,
cjs
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