Faith
Lately I have been really dependent on myself and other humans. I have believed that I can do it all on my own. Everything will be okay, once I get what I want, because I want it. It's a lonely word; pride. It makes you ache and squirm and come undone. It travels to the very tips of your fingers and back to your heart, ebbing and flowing, running it's course through your veins. A never-ending fever, some call it. I call it, a slow and painful death.
I'm not perfect, and sometimes I hope I never am. Because perfection is hard. No one really wants to do hard things. BUT GUESS WHAT!!! You can.
There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a man named Korihor. They don't tell us much about his childhood, but I like to think that Korihor wasn't always a bad guy. He probably grew up in a fairly normal home with parents who loved him, and he most definitely had his share of trails. As a man Korihor made some decisions that lead him to become an anti-Christ. He ended up being struck dumb after denying the Christ and dying in a stampede of people. However, there is one thing that stuck out to me from his words. He said, "O ye that are bound under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things?" This is interesting to me because of another scripture in Matthew, "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." Both talk about yokes but each have a very different viewpoint.
After what may have been years of sin and depression, Korihor only knew a burden as a threat. He didn't see that by yoking himself to the burden of the Lord he would actually be set free. Often times in our lives we get lost because of sin. We start to feel like our hope is vain, and we are bound to foolish dreams, yet, we are so blind. Like Korihor we come to believe that sin is just sin, everyone does it. Or that we can't be blamed for being weak. Even more than those things we think that the yoke of Christ is tying us down and that Christ himself has left.
Now let me tell you something. He has not left. He is right there next to you, he always has been. No matter our troubles, he is there. And he isn't there because he HAS to be, he is there because he WANTS to be. What a difference that makes. When someone wants to be with you.
Is his yoke really easy? Yes. Is his burden really light? Double yes. Are we still human? You bet your bottom. Does that mean that it's going to be easy right away? No. Does that mean that you will never fall into darkness again? Nope. SO WHY IN THE HECK DOES IT SAY THIS? I don't know. I really don't. It could be because this life is a test, and you have to do hard things. Or it could be because the hard things are the best things to help us learn. There are a million different answers, I'm sure. All I know is this, happiness comes from doing hard things with the love of Christ.
I'm not perfect, and sometimes I hope I never am. Because perfection is hard. No one really wants to do hard things. BUT GUESS WHAT!!! You can.
There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a man named Korihor. They don't tell us much about his childhood, but I like to think that Korihor wasn't always a bad guy. He probably grew up in a fairly normal home with parents who loved him, and he most definitely had his share of trails. As a man Korihor made some decisions that lead him to become an anti-Christ. He ended up being struck dumb after denying the Christ and dying in a stampede of people. However, there is one thing that stuck out to me from his words. He said, "O ye that are bound under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things?" This is interesting to me because of another scripture in Matthew, "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." Both talk about yokes but each have a very different viewpoint.
After what may have been years of sin and depression, Korihor only knew a burden as a threat. He didn't see that by yoking himself to the burden of the Lord he would actually be set free. Often times in our lives we get lost because of sin. We start to feel like our hope is vain, and we are bound to foolish dreams, yet, we are so blind. Like Korihor we come to believe that sin is just sin, everyone does it. Or that we can't be blamed for being weak. Even more than those things we think that the yoke of Christ is tying us down and that Christ himself has left.
Now let me tell you something. He has not left. He is right there next to you, he always has been. No matter our troubles, he is there. And he isn't there because he HAS to be, he is there because he WANTS to be. What a difference that makes. When someone wants to be with you.
Is his yoke really easy? Yes. Is his burden really light? Double yes. Are we still human? You bet your bottom. Does that mean that it's going to be easy right away? No. Does that mean that you will never fall into darkness again? Nope. SO WHY IN THE HECK DOES IT SAY THIS? I don't know. I really don't. It could be because this life is a test, and you have to do hard things. Or it could be because the hard things are the best things to help us learn. There are a million different answers, I'm sure. All I know is this, happiness comes from doing hard things with the love of Christ.
Comments
Post a Comment