Read: Matthew 11:25-30
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (v. 29 NIV)
It’s hard for humble, gentle people in our world. At least that’s my experience. Humble people can get pushed around. Political and business leaders aren’t gentle. Don’t we need to assert ourselves to get ahead? In today’s reading, Jesus is pointing us in another direction.
The Gospels reveal that Jesus has a confident, well-defined view of himself—Lord of creation, pre-existent in time, embodiment of eternal life. Yet again and again, we see that Jesus pays more attention to the weak than the strong. He asks the heavily laden to put on his yoke (the heavy, wooden crosspiece that oxen would wear to pull a plow), but Jesus says this yoke is “easy” (v. 30). The work he directs us to do is “light,” and an expression of Jesus himself (“my burden” v. 30). Jesus appeals to the weary and heavy-laden because working for him is resting in him, and because he is “gentle and humble in heart” (v. 29 NASB).
Being gentle does not mean being weak but restraining your strength so no harm is done in using it. Being humble doesn’t mean having a poor self-image but a personal security that puts the interests of others first. That’s what Jesus demonstrated in his life, and it’s what he calls us to as well.
As you pray, consider the labor in your life that brings neither purpose nor pleasure. Ask Jesus to direct you to his work and the pleasures and purposes he has for you in it.
Fred Van Dyke is a conservation biologist dedicated to the care for God’s creation. In this role Fred has served government agencies, private consulting firms, and academic institutions doing research, management, and teaching in conservation science. He is also the author of two books on faith and environmental stewardship.
