“Come to me, all those exhausted and overloaded, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke on your shoulders and learn from me, because I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my load is light” (Matt 11:28-30).
So after we take up Jesus’ yoke, we must then learn from him. In other words, acquire from him the practical knowledge of meekness. How do we do that?
The Word. God’s people must rediscover the Jesus of the four gospels. These divinely-inspired biographies, full of the simple but extraordinary stories and sayings of Jesus, beckon us to behold a man like no other. They call us, not just to read them, but to feast on them; devouring the essence of their unusual hero into our spirits.
Unlike the gods of ancient Greek myths, or lead characters in modern movies, the Jesus of the gospels refuses to overpower his enemies with vengeance or prove himself through force. Instead, he entrusts himself to God and refrains from promoting himself. He eats with sinners. He feeds multitudes. He serves the poor. He performs miracles, teaches, and heals. And in the end, instead of conquering his enemies by calling on his Father for twelve legions of angels, he lays down his life out of love.
Then God vindicates him by raising him from the dead. He never had to vindicate himself. Jesus conquered through meekness, becoming the model of meekness for us. So we must read, study, and memorize the Jesus story of the gospels, and make it our own lifestyle.
Tomorrow, we finish this topic with our last blog in the series.