Matthew 11:29-30 - The Savior Speaking:
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Most of us, at one time or another, have studied these verses and have committed these verses to memory. They give us comfort when things are tough. And when we are content, they remind us of the essence of the atonement - the "AT-ONE-MENT" with the Savior. After all, the atonement's reach extends far beyond the availability of repentance.
What does it mean to take HIS yoke upon ourselves? Here is a photo of a yoke:
So, if we are yoked with the Savior, what do we see?
We see what He sees, we go where He goes, at the pace He wishes us to go, and we do what He does. When we are yoked with Him, sharing our burdens with Him, we are then at one with Him. He then, through the power of His Spirit, makes our burdens seem lighter and more bearable. Most of the time, He even teaches us eternal truths through our burdens.
Can you imagine how Alma and his "Waters of Mormon" converts felt about this doctrine?
Mosiah 24:13-15 - (Read the entire chapter for context)
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may
know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.
know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
Finally, to be yoked with Christ also means that He wishes for us to pull our own weight. We must do the work, our "Eternal Homework," in order for us to feel the "rest" unto our souls. Our souls will not feel rested unless we are pulling our weight, for if we are not, we will feel spiritually awkward when looking over at Christ on the other side of our yoke. Be assured, He will ask you to repent, and when you do, you will then feel His strength lift your burdens. The feeling of worthiness will strengthen your ability to work with Him, or to be AT ONE with Him.
3 comments:
Great post. you are a really good writer.
I am reading "Believing Christ," by Stephen Robinson, and it actually has a section on what the Savior means when he says "my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." I found it interesting that Robinson explains the partnership we each have with the Savior in regards to "taking His yoke upon us." He explains that too many of us don't allow the Savior to carry His full load...the atonement...and that we expect to perfect ourselves before accepting the cleansing and perfecting power He offers.
Robinson says, "Some people reject the idea of grace because it seems too easy. They want being saved to be harder than it is. There is a certain comfort in saying, 'Salvation is so hard that I couldn't possibly make it, so I don't even need to try.' This provides a convenient excuse for not trying at all."
Anyway, I could keep going, but this is Ben's blog!!
When I was working a part time job in high shcool,my boss once told me to marry someone who is equally yoked. I had no idea what he was talking about. But then he explained that you must work together, be teamates, and put just as much effort as the other person. You have to pull the weight equally. I believe that the Savior will be our partner and and teamate if we put forth our effort through faith and obedience. The harder we work the harder he'll work for us. Ben, I love these quotes. Thanks for sending them to me and my family. Melissa (Bailey) Chertudi
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