day no. 15,697: His yoke is easy, not unyoked

While reading the John MacArthur Handbook of Effective Biblical Leadership, I came across a message by Paul Washer titled The Great Commission as a Theological Endeavor where he said,

"The Great Commission is didactic. It is a theological endeavor. It is not about sending missionaries per se; it is about sending the truth through missionaries -- to teach all to observe the truth. The Great Commission is not just about gnosis, it is about praxis; it is not just about orthodoxy, it is about orthopraxy. This is very clear in the teaching of Christ when He says, 'Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me' (Matthew 11:29). The two ways always go hand in hand. To learn from Him is to submit to His sovereignty." 

If we want to learn from Jesus, we must submit to His yoke. He promises to bear the majority of the burden, but it still requires you to shoulder up next to Him. His yoke is easy, not unyoked. His offer presupposes that your current yoke is heavier and weightier and that you must bear it all by your lonesome. In addition to being heavy, it is cloaked in darkness and dimwit. You cannot learn unless you link up with Jesus. And when you are yoked to Him, He is not plowing co-pilot. He takes the lead. He teaches. You submit to His yoke and you learn.

Humility submits its body and mind to Jesus. It places its shoulders under His authority and its mind under His teaching. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot be taught if your body is not under His yoke. You cannot be shoulder to shoulder with Him if you are not willing to also learn from Him as you walk together. To be plowing with Jesus is to be growing in Him, next to Him, from Him and through Him alone.