11/09/2020: Matthew 11:28-30

Of course a yoke is the thing that oxen hold on their shoulders to pull their load, connecting two animals together so that they work as a team. They're heavy, and oxen usually look tired while pulling them. So naturally, I always thought of this scriptures as kindof like Christ saying "Here, your yoke looks heavy, let me put the other half on my shoulders and I'll help you with it."

Then I read it carefully, and I noticed that it doesn't say that at all. It actually says the opposite - that CHRIST has the yoke in the first place, and he's asking US to come shoulder it with Him.

There are probably different interpretations, but my thought is this: we're all pulling heavy loads, but we have some decisions as to which loads we're going to pull. For those that try to follow Christ, part of our load includes striving to live Christlike lives and obey the commandments. That's not always easy, and it's tempting sometimes to wish we didn't have that burden. But what I think Christ is saying here is that it may seem like a heavy load, but He will make it lighter than any others that we might chose to pull. The load that we can chose to pull with Christ might include some difficult things, but it is the only one that also includes His help, friendship, and the guidance, the comfort of the Holy Ghost, and (most importantly) His merciful atonement!