LIVING FULLY A HUMAN LIFE
No burden is too
heavy when it's given and carried in love.
A
loving husband and wife who really want children look forward to the birth of
their first child. The thought of the child, snugly wrapped in the warm
security of the womb, preoccupies all their waking thoughts and maybe their
dreams as well. Imagine that a wife is convinced that she is pregnant. She and
her husband are overjoyed. The wife goes to a doctor to confirm her pregnancy
only to discover that she has been mistaken. Conception has not taken place. It
is a bitter disappointment, but they know that they still have hope that a
child will be theirs in the future.
This
is the picture which Isaiah paints of the people of their day. They had heard
promises of salvation and they were convinced that the time had come for the
birth of a new era upon the earth. That era had not come. It was a bitter
disappointment, but Isaiah wanted to encourage the people to keep up their hope
in the future.
We
are in a different position. We believe that salvation has come in the birth of
a Child and that a new era of salvation has opened for the whole world. God has
accomplished this salvation in a way so tender and so touching that it was not
envisioned by the prophets of old.
Our
salvation has come in the birth of the eternal Son of God, made human like us
in all things, except sin. God always had tender love for His people, but how
much more touching it is to experience this love in the human heart of Jesus
Christ. Living fully a human life, with all its burdens and difficulties, Jesus
says, "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."
What
does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the Gospel? The Jews used the image of a
yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke
of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom and the yoke of God. Jesus says
His yoke is "easy." The Greek word for "easy" can also mean
"well-fitting." We are invited to put on the "sweet yoke of
Jesus" and to live the heavenly way of life and happiness. Yes, that is
"well fitting" for us. Jesus also says His "burden is
light,"
There's
a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his
back. "That's a heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the
man. "He ain't heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden
is too heavy when it's given and carried in love. Jesus offers us a new kingdom
of righteousness, peace, and joy. In His kingdom, sins are not only forgiven
but also removed, and eternal life is poured out for all it citizens. This is
not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one.
That
is a salvation worth waiting for!