This is supposed to be easy?

One of the hardest parts of my job, if not the hardest part, is seeing someone who I had seen going through a period of spiritual growth start to slip away.

It happens every semester. Someone who the Lord seemed to be doing something incredible in stops attending services or seems unattached when present.

When I am aware of these situations, I pursue the person and ask them why their attitude towards Jesus and the Gospel is undergoing such a dramatic change.

They often reply with the same answer, "It is just too hard."

They give me stories of family members, friends, classmates, and/or coworkers who rejected their attempts to talk about Jesus and even began harassing them for their faith.

They talk about those rejections led them to doubt whether or not God is with them and whether or not their faith is genuine.

They share how that doubt paralyzed their Bible study and prayer life and left them without the feeling of intimacy with Jesus they once enjoyed.

And then they describe how that lack of intimacy has resulted in their inability to overcome their internal struggle with sin and how things they had once put behind them as a part of their "old" life are now resurfacing as more and more attractive.

And every time I hear that progression or story it breaks my heart. It is difficult to hear and it is no less difficult when I see the story occurring in the lives of other ELEMENT attenders who have yet to have that conversation with me.

Which leads me to the subject of today's posting. What the heck did Jesus mean in Matthew 11:28-30?

You might be familiar with the verses, they are pretty commonly quoted, but in light of my experience I think they deserve a re-examination of sorts. Here they are:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The first part isn't difficult to understand. Jesus is simply saying, "All of you who are feeling bogged down with life and sin come to me and I will help you."

If you are reading this as a Christ-follower then you probably don't have any problem identifying with that statement. You can point back to a time, before your relationship with Christ began, where you felt bogged down with life and sin. You felt hopeless and helpless and those feelings drove you to check out (or reengage) the message of Jesus.

But what about what Jesus says next? He tells prospective believers to take on my yoke because it is a place of rest and it is easy and light.

Restful? Easy? Light?

Did Jesus ever go home and try and share the gospel with lost family members?

Did Jesus ever have a non-believer poke holes in what he believed or ask him quesitons he couldn't answer?

Did Jesus ever have the Bible feel stale or prayer feel pointless?

Did Jesus ever struggle with sin that was just so tempting?

Those things are not restful. They are not easy. They are not light.

So, what did Jesus mean? What do these words have to communicate to those who find themselves in the downward progression I described earlier?

The answer is that these verses contain the secret of grace.

God doesn't ask us to live the Christian life on our own. He doesn't use phrases like "suck it up" or "gut it out." He doesn't say "pick up your yolk and make it happen."

He tells us to bring all of our baggage, including our need to "make it happen", and lay it down at the feet of Jesus and pick up Jesus' yoke.

A yoke is not made for one. It is made for two oxen to pull together. Jesus isn't inviting us to "yoke-swap" (SPOILER ALERT: NEW FOX REALITY SERIES "YOKE SWAP" COMING SOON). He is inviting us to join him or partner with him through life.

But Jesus isn't just any kind of ox. He is a stud. He pulls the yoke single-handily and he doesn't need our help. He just wants us to yield to his studliness.

In other words, it isn't that Jesus is calling us to do easy things. He calls us to do difficult things like: sharing our faith, overcoming our fears and doubts, maintaining a devotional life, and defeating sin. But he calls us to difficult things by simply relying on Him.

He is saying, "Hey, look it is going to be difficult but if you will let me I will take the reigns of this yoke (you won't have to keep doing it on your own) and I will make this happen."

In essence that is the gospel, a bunch of former rebels throwing down their heavy loads and saying, "I can't do it on my own Jesus. I need you to take over."

So, what is the problem with those on the downward progression? Why aren't they experiencing this yoke-swap effect?

Usually, it is because somewhere along the way they stopped letting Jesus pull the yoke and they started carrying it themselves. And when they met resistance or difficulty they felt that Jesus wasn't there to help them out and that's because HE WASN'T!

They had long since kicked him out.

The answer for them and for you to avoid their fate is to continually (daily) set the controls of your life (your yoke) at the feet of Jesus and say, "I know following you isn't easy, but I want you to help me do it."

See if that doesn't make you feel a little "lighter."