The Brunswick times. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 188?-1900, 1900-03-04
Ghp brunswick Times.
/ EEs ISSUE CONTAINS SIX PAGES. |
SUNDAY THOUGHTS.


From the statement, LEARN Of Ne"
throws In the disconoertiDg qualifica-
tioD, take Ny yoke upon you and
isarn Of Me.D Why, If all this be true,
does He call Il q yoke7 Why, while
protesting to give rest, does He with
the next breath whisper, "Burdens"
IL the Christian life after all what its
enemies take 1t for--an additional
weight to the already great wOe Of
life, some-extra punctiliousness about
duty, some painful devotion to OBJ
servAnces, some heavy restriction and
trammelling of all that ise joyous and
free In the worId7 Is life not hard
and soFrowiul enough without being
fettsrsd with yet another yOke2 II is
astounding how so giaring a misun-
derstanding of this plain sentences
should ever have passed into curren-
cy. Did you ever stop to ask what q
yoke is really fort Is It to be q burr
den to the animal that wears III It Is
Just the opposite It is to make it's
burden light Attached to the oxen
In any othsr way than BY yoke the
pillow would be intolerable. Worked
by means Of yoke Il lie light. A yoke
Ii not an instrument of torture, It is
an Instrument Of mercy. It Is not
malicious contrivancs for making
work hardi it is a gentle device for
making hard work light. 1t is not
meant to give pain, but to save pain,
and Jet men speak Of the yoke Of
Christ as II it we're slavery, aud look
upon those who wear II as objects Of
compassion. For generations we have
had homilies on 1.-THE Yoke Of Christ,
Soine deIiRhting in poFtraying ito ex-
actions, others apologizing for It and
trying TO tone II down. Instead OF
making Christ attractive, this makes
Him taskmaster, narrowing life by
petty restrictions, calling for ssIf.de-
niAl where none is necessary, making
misery a virtue Under the plea that 1t
is the yoke Of Christ, and happiness
criminal because it now and then
svades It. The mistake arises from
the word "yoke." 10 Christ's illus
tration it IL not the iugum of the Roc
man soldier, but the simple OK COLLAR
Of the eastern peasant, IL is the liter
Al wooden yoke which He with His
own hands had probably made a the
carpenters shop. He knew the differ
enoe between smooth, well-htting
yoke and rough one, bad at, and
the differences it made 60 the animal
which had to wear it. The rough yoke
CALLED and the burden was heavyi the
am Doth yoke caused no pain, and the
burden was light. And what was
mans burden7 Simply life, the gen
erAl burden of life. Christ saw that
to some it was a WEAKNESS, to some a
tragedy, to some failure, and he
saidl "CArry your yoke as do. Take
life as take IT, Take MY yoke and
learn OF Me, and you will find your
burden light" This is to become meek
and lowly IN heart, letting the old
evil nature become numb for want Of
use. II lie the beautiful work Of Christ
everywhere to adjust the burden Of
life to those who bear It and them to
il. II has 4 perfectly miraculous g,it
Of healing. The weight Of load de-
ponds upon the attraction Of the earth.
But suppose the attraction Of the earth
we're removed Now, Christianity
alone can remove the attraction Of the
sartb, and thus diminish mems bur-