Article April 25, 1925 Issue

The Yoke

E. ANA LOWER

Many references to the word "yoke" occur in the Old Testament; and in nearly every instance the thought it carries is of something grievous and burdensome. In Deuteronomy we read that the children of Israel were to have "a yoke of iron" on their necks, if disobedient to God's commandments. In Isaiah there is a promise of freedom from "heavy burdens," and the assurance that the yoke will be broken.

When we turn to the New Testament we find there an invitation from Jesus, who said: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Here it would seem that the yoke is something to be desired, since we shall find rest and freedom in accepting it. Evidently a new and higher meaning is attached to the word as the Master used it.

A beautiful uplift was once gained by the writer as her thought went back to childhood's days, where memory had painted a picture of two sturdy oxen, bound together by a yoke, going steadily forward under the guiding hand of the one directing their steps. Like a flash came the clear meaning of Jesus' words. Truly a yoke does bind; but it is love that binds us to the Christ and to the Father. On page 262 of "Miscellaneous Writings" Mrs. Eddy writes, "With all the homage beneath the skies, yet were our burdens heavy but for the Christ-love that makes them light and renders the yoke easy." As the oxen were bound together and guided aright, so we are bound to Christ through the understanding of divine Love, and are guided by God's Word into the paths we should tread. As the Psalmist says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Paul admonishes us in Galatians to "stand fast ... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Likewise Mrs. Eddy writes (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 90), "Break the yoke of bondage in every wise way."

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