Take My Yoke

“Here, take my yoke”, the preacher said in quoting Christ,
“A better way to burden bear, I don’t mean ‘nice’;
Why struggle on with your old way when His is here?"
Like software new, it lightens loads, it would appear.

I thought about my father’s task when just a kid –
He had a yoke, two pails hung down without their lids;
He carried water from the lake on washing day;
He used his yoke, just steadied pails along the way.

Friend Louis has a sturdy yoke on his canoe;
He flips it up above his head – what he must do
In walking down that portage trail, he does with ease;
At end of day he’s walking ’round, not on his knees.

For me the easing of the load’s in body-life:
The eyes, and ears, and hands, and feet, make burdens light;
When specialized then we can run full-stretch with joy;
Paul’s wisdom shows how yoking-in can gifts employ.

We’ve got the gifts, but one or two are really strong;
Alone we walk and work our days without a song,
For we’re held back by lower gifts which are too weak;
When joined with folks with excess strength we get a treat.

In Christ we find with other gifts our allergy
Dissolves – which lets us come on-side and others greet
With open arms, for it’s a joy when load is eased,
And we fulfill our tasks in Him – we’re greatly pleased.

But even more when culture’s door is firmly shut,
We stumble on when all alone, no cause to strut;
Our tribal-life is well and good but isolates
Us from the tools the others have – it separates.

A salesman has apostle’s task – to boundary-cross;
With antidote he’s free to go without a loss;
All well and good to have a way to see the tribes –
A walk in Christ lets those in Christ address the vibes.

With Internet our world has changed – but tribal life
Remains intact – each boundary-line’s potential strife;
The tool is good – it teases out the tribal lines,
Sets salesman up to do their task, their work refines.

Within each kirk a culture-mix – there’s one of each;
The Bruchko-task, for each performed lets others teach;
But with the flow of tribal lines brought into view,
Our world’s transformed, our task’s made clear – the church renewed.

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