In this beautiful/ugly world,
Where it’s so hard
To get the full attention
Of any crowd,
The big surprise for most
About Christianity
Is that there are indeed
A yoke to be worn,
A burden to be carried,
And a Master to be pleased.
And how do the people
Respond to all this?
Here’s what I see.
Very few embrace it all
And learn as intended.
And some refuse the whole of it
As utter nonsense.
But many—
Most, I’d say—
Seem to get caught up more
In pretending to have yielded themselves
To the Master’s satisfaction.
And of these,
Many will even dare anybody else
To say it isn’t so.
But then one day
The pretender
Is finally carried off
To the Master,
Who declares
For the divine record
That it wasn’t so.
And the matter—
Which might have been
Previously settled by timely humility—
Is settled by the divine decree,
And carried out by holy angels.
And that is that.
And those still living on Earth
Never hear that decree—
Yet those in their yokes
Would not be surprised by it
In the least,
For they,
Unlike the others,
Have been listening.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-23 NIV
