It never is.
What am I talking about???
Christianity!
Jesus never told us that following him would be easy.
In Matthew 5:11, Matthew writes:
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely, for my sake.
He’s says we’re blessed when we are persectued (hurt) for his sake. When people hurt us because we believe in Jesus, he says (in the next verse) that our reward is great in heaven.
In fact, he tells us to REJOICE when this happens!!!
Crazy, right???
But it’s true. Because when we serve God, we are storing up treasure in Heaven – the treasure that counts the most! The treasure in Heaven never goes away! No thieves can get to it, and it will never be damaged.
But back to the point: Chrisianity isn’t easy. Many people are offended by our faith (maybe even you, the reader, are offended by this) but Jesus promises reward when we follow him faithfully.
So what Matthew 11:29 – 30?
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.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Especially that last part – my burden is light.
That implies that the Christian life is a breeze, right?
No.
The burden he’s talking about isn’t our life in this world, and how he will change it to be more easy.
The burden is a comparison to what the world and sin will take from you, and what Jesus gives you.
Think about for a moment: when you weren’t saved, was life easy? The constant comparisons to others around you, and the pressure to be like everyone else can be exhausting, to say the least.
And after a life of doing your best on your own, you still aren’t good enough.
But Jesus says his burden is light.
In the verse before the ones I just shared with you (Matthew 11:28), Jesus says:
Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus gives us rest from that pressure, and the weight of our sin! He washes us clean, and the only thing he asks in return is that we believe him and trust him, and follow his example.
And that’s what he means by my burden is light. All he asks in return for COMPLETE SALVATION is trust and love!
God bless,
~Janet!
PS: The best encouragement when the Christian walk is difficult – when people criticize and hurt us – is the Bible. There are multitudes of verses in the Scripture that provide encouragement, especially in the Psalms!
I recommend for you to go read them and memorize them, so they are ready in your mind when you need that boost.
Some verses that are a great encouragement: Ps 25:5 and 20, 30:3, 88:2, 89:8 and 11, John 14:27