We have a Miniature Schnauzer who loves walks but hates his harness. When we bring his beautifully designed, snug-fitting harness out of the cupboard Azizi barks excitedly because he knows it’s walk-time, even as he backs away because he knows we’re going to put him in it!

I couldn’t help but think of Azizi when I read this well-known passage in Matthew 11 last week. “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light” (Matt. 11:28-30 NLT).

This year I have been in the OMS (Order of the Mustard Seed) year of preparation, which culminates in a vow ceremony at the 24/7 Prayer Gathering in Rotterdam. It’s been a challenging and sometimes emotional journey as I explore whether taking the vow ‘to be true to Christ, kind to others and to take the Gospel to the nations’ is for me.

There’s a large part of me that wants to do these things, knowing that they are a beautiful summation of Jesus’ Great Commandment to love God and our neighbour (Matt. 22:37 and 39), and his Great Commission to tell the nations about him (Matt. 28:19-20).

But there’s another part of me that’s resistant to taking the vow and living it out through prayer, creativity, hospitality, justice, learning and mission (the 6 practices of the OMS). ‘I don’t want to be shaped into something that’s not truly me’, this more reluctant part argues.

Much like my dog I’m barking excitedly even as I’m backing away!

Yet when I was studying these last verses in Matthew 11, this one jumped out at me: For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light. Jesus is saying to me what I wish I could say to Azizi. Trust me. You don’t need to fear this harness (yoke). The only way we can go on joyful adventures is together.

I believe it’s what Jesus says to each of us, no matter where we are on our journey with him. Come to me, he calls when we hardly know who he is and don’t much care to set foot in a church. Come to me, he calls when we’ve been warming the pews for years. Always he’s drawing us closer to him, knowing that our best life is lived in close connection with him.

What I love so much is that each ‘yoke’ is such a unique, snug fit. We don’t need to fear being changed into something we’re not. “God calls us to live out of the uniqueness with which he has created and shaped us” (Jill Weber).

It’s dawning on me that it’s only in a deep connection with Christ that I become the truest version of myself. So I am learning to stop backing away and edge ever closer to him, trusting that what he lays on my shoulders has been perfectly designed for me by him.

Prayer

Lord, thank you that you keep softly calling me even when I back away. Thank you that you are my humble and gentle teacher who gives me perfect rest in a restless world. Thank you that you know me even better than I know myself and that you have a truly good plan for our life together. I entrust my life to you once more. Amen