God, the weight lifter

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV), 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

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. 

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 

Since a lot of things that we must go through as Christians are tough, how can this passage be true?

In your mind’s eye, picture two oxen yoked together, plowing a field. 

One ox is big and tough, and the other is little and weak. 

As we watch the two oxen plowing the field, 

we notice that the big, 

tough oxen 

is doing most of the pulling, 

and the little, weak oxen 

is just walking along in harmony with him. 

It is true that a lot of things that we go through are really tough, but Jesus has an offer for you. 

Will you be yoked together with me? 

I won’t take advantage of you, 

and I'll pause throughout the day to allow you to catch a breath. 

Sure, 

there is a lot of heavy work ahead of us, 

but if you’ll follow my lead, 

I’ll do all the heavy lifting.

M. H. Dennis