Bonhoeffer: Christ's yoke is easy

Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “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.”
    —Matthew 11:29-30 (ESV)
Quotation:
    When the Bible speaks of “following Jesus,” it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogmas, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. If they follow Jesus, men escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus Christ. But does this mean that we ignore the seriousness of His commands? Far from it! We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when His command, His call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety. Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets His yoke rest upon him, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, Simon and Schuster, 1959, p. 37 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 11:29-30; Ps. 119:45; Isa. 61:1-2; John 16:33; Rom. 8:20-21; 2 Cor. 3:17; 12:9-10; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 4:13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I cast away my last reluctance in following You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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