Thursday, July 16, 2020

Bible Text: “Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”. Matthew 11. 28-30

It is typical for ancient and traditional farmers to employ two animals simultaneously for ploughing by the use of one yoke. The animals carry together one yoke to pull the plow. In which case the animals were not overworked and at the same time they can plough a larger area when they are trained to work together.

In this world, we will never be free from any form of sacrifices and sufferings. We toil so that we can live and it is part of our daily routine. Physical and emotional sufferings too are intertwined into our life because it is part of our human nature. We always have to be prepared to endure pain and we see that’s precisely what life is. When Jesus invites us to come to Him to carry His burden, it does not mean that we will already be exempted from any form of struggles in life. It does not also mean that Jesus will carry the burden for us. It still does not mean that we will be in comfort zone all the time.

Jesus’ invitation is first and foremost a learning experience for us. He wanted to teach us the value of these things in our life. Suffering teaches us a lot of lessons in life. It is a sign of love. We preferred to take burdens in life because we want to give life to others especially to our loved ones. Sacrifices are opportunities to love. Sufferings are possibilities to participate in the very suffering of Christ. In other words, when we do it with Christ, we are doing it to fulfil the will of God in our life. Union with Christ through suffering means we are being shaped to be children of God. Carrying the yoke with Jesus will not be in vain but will certainly lead to life.

Let us embrace struggles in life with Christ because there is peace, joy and fullfilment in life.