Sunday Devotional

Unlike most dogs, Max loves his collar. I suppose that’s because from his earliest days, I used it as a way of rewarding him. For example, I never put it on him unless we went for a ride. I would hold up the tiny buckle and wave it in front of him.

“Do you want to go for a ride, Max? You want to go get ice cream?”

Max’s hind end shook furiously as he anticipated his favorite treat, a Dairy Queen single dipped cone. He ran to the door, pawing to get out.

“Collar first, Max. Let’s put it on.”

He scurried back to me, barely able to sit still as I secured the collar around his neck and then opened the door for him to go outside. In his eyes, the collar meant a day of fun, a reward, so to speak for good behavior.

So it is with God. “Take my yoke upon you,” He said. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

And yet we sometimes fight against God’s yoke, certain that a restraint of any kind can only be bad. Watching Max has convinced me that God’s yoke truly is a good thing. Bearing it leads to the reward He has planned for us, one much greater than any treat Dairy Queen can offer.

Matthew 11:28-30 (New International Version)

28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."