Basic HTML Version
Chapter 11
37
“Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart.” To learn the
lessons Christ teaches is the greatest treasure students can find. Rest
comes to them in the consciousness that they are trying to please the
Lord (
Letter 144, 1901
).
Help to Bear Every Burden
—There is a condition to the rest
and peace here offered us by Christ. It is that of yoking up with
Him. All who will accept the condition will find that the yoke of
Christ will help them to bear every burden needful for them to carry.
Without Christ at our side to bear the heaviest part of the load, we
must indeed say that it is heavy. But yoked with Him to the car of
duty, the burdens of life may all be lightly carried. And just as a man
acts in willing obedience to the requirements of God, will come his
peace of mind....
Meekness and humility will characterize all who are obedient to
the law of God, all who will wear the yoke of Christ with submission.
And these graces will bring the desirable result of peace in the service
of Christ (
The Signs of the Times, April 16, 1912
).
(
Matthew 16:24
;
9:23
.) Symbol of Submission to God’s
Will
—We are to bear the yoke of Christ that we may be placed
in complete union with Him. “Take my yoke upon you,” He says.
Obey My requirements. But these requirements may be in direct
opposition to the will and purposes of the human agent. What then
is to be done? Hear what God says: “If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow
me.” The yoke and the cross are symbols representing the same
thing,—the giving up of the will to God. Wearing the yoke unites
finite man in companionship with the dearly beloved Son of God.
Lifting the cross cuts away self from the soul, and places man where
he learns how to bear Christ’s burdens. We cannot follow Christ
[1091]
without wearing His yoke, without lifting the cross and bearing it
after Him. If our will is not in accord with the divine requirements,
we are to deny our inclinations, give up our darling desires, and step
in Christ’s footsteps....
Men frame for their own necks yokes that seem light and pleasant
to wear, but they prove galling in the extreme. Christ sees this, and
He says, “Take My yoke upon you. The yoke you would place
upon your own neck, thinking it a precise fit, will not fit at all. Take
My yoke upon you, and learn of Me the lessons essential for you