Being Yoked with Jesus

Scripture Reading

Luke 9:62, Matthew 11:28-30

Luke 9:62

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 11:28-30

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Devotional

The two scriptures from Luke and Matthew have a common theme of plowing a field and also working with Jesus. Although the reference is used in a slightly different context in each book, it has an underlying theme of the importance of walking with Jesus and being led by him. Let’s take a look at each scripture more closely.

Luke 9:62 talks about the importance of staying focused on the path you’re on. Don’t worry about what’s behind you, worry about the line you’re making ahead that is heaven-bound. If you’re like me, you’ve probably never plowed a field or worked on a farm, so I’m going to use driving as an example. Have you ever been driving and saw an accident on the side of the road? There are police cars, firetrucks, ambulances, the whole nine yards. Your natural instinct is to slow down see what’s going on; however, what happens when you do that? Your car naturally goes in the same direction your head is turned. So now, you’ve not only slowed down traffic, but you’re not driving in your lane and could cause an accident yourself. In other words, you should’ve kept focused on what’s ahead and not allow yourself to be distracted with less important things. In the same way, our lives are full of distractions whether it’s our phone, social media, our favorite tv shows, chores, and the list goes on and on. Then you have Jesus trying to direct your path but you’re plowing yourself into a drainage ditch with the distractions of life. Oddly enough, once you’re in life’s ditch you’re wondering where God is. It’s a struggle to keep focused on God with the chaos of life going on around us. It’s something we have be intentional about on a daily basis and also surround ourselves with other believers who can hold us accountable and encourage us when we veer off. But we are not expected to do this on our own, which leads us to the scripture in Matthew.

Matthew 11:28-30 is Jesus telling us to let him guide our footsteps. He’s training us to do work for his kingdom while taking the vast majority of the weight. It’s a really amazing image firstly because it represents closeness to God. When you see an image of two oxen tied together by a yoke, there’s not a whole lot of personal space, they are walking side-by-side to accomplish a single goal and that’s to plow a field in a specific direction. Something interesting about plowing a field is that it’s done after a harvest by essentially breaking up the roots of weeds and any remnants of the previous crop in order to make way for the new plants to grow. So when we’re tied together with Jesus, walking with him, we are working to achieve a purpose for his kingdom and that’s to bring people back to God. The soil is a representation of each person whether or not they are a believer. God has a plan to prepare them to receive the Good News and use you to deliver it. That’s the planting of the seed. Now whether or not someone accepts God into their lives is up to them, but the ground has been prepared and Jesus and you and me and all the other believers will continue to prep the ground and spread the Good News so that when the final harvest comes, as many people are saved as possible.

Secondly, we are not expected to do anything God asks us to do on our own. In this scripture, Jesus describes an intimate relationship, a closeness, a bond. He’s taking 99.9999% of the load, but invites you and me to help and be part of his plan, learning from him along the way, and following along the path he lays out. Lastly, a field doesn’t just get harvested once, it’s a continual process and it has a season. Similarly, fields get plowed over and over again to make way for new life. In the same way, God doesn’t just make one pass at us and if we don’t accept him immediately we’ll miss the harvest. God will continue to call people to him until the day of his return. At the same time, we should listen to the Holy Spirit as our guide to determine how and when to share the Good News. Like the ox, we may never see the fruits of our labor when we share the Good News with someone, but we can have confidence that every step and every bit of effort we make while walking with Jesus is part of God’s plan for both ourselves and others. Let’s pray.

Prayer

Father God, thank you for being an ever-present guide in my life. Thank you for always helping me back on the right path when I am overcome by distractions. Lord, please use me in your plans to save as many of your people as possible. I know I may not be the most knowledgeable or eloquent, but neither was Moses and he freed your people from Egypt because you were with him. I know that all things are possible with you and I pray that your Holy Spirit would do a great work through me when you call me to step out in faith throughout my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.