Seedbed's Daily Text delivered to your inbox each morning. The Yoke of Freedom (Delighted Part 4) LISTEN NOW! Read Matthew 11:28-30 "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." Reflect My mom grew up on a little fishing village called Harkers Island, on the coast of North Carolina. From the front porch her dad built, you can see the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and a stretch of land in the sound called Shackleford Banks. Shackleford Banks is home to a population of wild horses. They have never been bridled, trained, or domesticated. Local authorities protect them from human interaction, preserving their untouched way of life. Historians and scientists believe their Spanish Mustang ancestors survived a shipwreck and swam to this strip of safety, where their family line has continued for hundreds of years. When I was growing up, the wild horses on Harkers Island were a symbol of freedom in mind. No bridles. No saddles. No domestication for the purpose of human service. Total freedom. Until one day it dawned on me. Shackleford Banks is only a couple of miles wide and fewer than ten miles long. For hundreds of years this family line of wild horses has been restricted to this small stretch of sand and seagrass, surrounded by a boundary of water. Perhaps that is not freedom, but isolation. When Jesus offers the yoke, the enemy whispers of freedom from it. What he really wants for you is isolation. A perceived freedom from Christ, which, of course, is merely bondage to yourself and your own enslaving sin. Jesus channels the prophet's hope of a God that shatters the yoke of slavery, and in its place he offers a yoke of freedom. Bound to him in discipleship, tied to him in intimacy, walking with him in rest and true fulfillment. The island appears to be a promise of freedom. It is actually a legacy of isolation. The yoke seems to be a form of bondage. It is actually an invitation to delight in the freedom of Jesus. Pray Lord of the yoke, break us free from the bonds of slavery and the false promise that leads to isolation. Bind us to you. Draw us near, and teach us to rest in your freedom. Amen. Conference How does this imagery of the yoke strike you? Does it rub you wrong way? What do you think about this distinction between freedom and isolation. For the Awakening, Matt LeRoy The post The Yoke of Freedom (Delighted Part 4) appeared first on Seedbed. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2021 Seedbed, All rights reserved. You signed up to receive Daily Text posts via email at dailytext.seedbed.com. Our mailing address is: Seedbed 415 Bridge St. Franklin, TN 37064 Add us to your address book Matt Leroy Matt LeRoy is a preacher, church planter, and folk theologian. He is co-pastor of Love Chapel Hill, an eclectic church plant in the heart of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. LeRoy is also the director of The Circuit, a church-planting collective of Jesus Pioneers. He is married to Sarah and is the proud dad of twin sons, Luke and Sam.                                        Want to buy Matt-Leroy books on Alibris.com?      Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list.  Subscription Information This email was sent to Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog   *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally