Making an Identity Is Exhausting

We can either make an identity, or receive one.

I’ve been going through my Greek New Testament again, slowly plodding through the pages and enjoying all the sounds and nuances. My last helpful pause came at Matthew 11:28-30, where I actually applied the text to myself (imagine that!) in the form of questions. I was thinking particularly of my identity, of who I am and how often I feel as if I have to prove my identity or value to others in this internet age. Here’s what the Son of God says:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I love the way the passage begins, with the word deute, which means not just “come” but “come here.” Jesus is calling people front and center, right to his side to listen. And he knows we’ll have questions, because we always do. Here are the questions I asked myself after I read the passage a few times.

1. Are you tired of toiling? Answer: Yes! It’s hard to convince others of my identity and value. And isn’t “earning value” precisely the thing the gospel speaks against? What am I doing?

2. Do you feel like you’ve been carrying a lot of baggage around? Answer: Yes! The baggage of self-doubt is heavy, and so is the earthly hope in the identity I piece together for an online world—a hope that usually disappoints or frustrates.

3. Do you want rest? Answer: Of course! I want my heart to accept what my head knows: that my identity is only stable in God and his grace through Christ.

Answer those questions for yourself. It’s guaranteed to lead to some soul searching.

Taking Up the Yoke

Then comes the real application. What does Jesus tell us to do to receive rest? The answer isn’t—perhaps to our disappointment—to just stop doing everything and take a vacation, or to simplify our life, or to say “no” more often than “yes.” In fact, he doesn’t even say, “Drop all your burdens.” He says, “take my yoke upon you, and learn from me.” We don’t drop something to follow Jesus and find ourself in him; we take up something: his yoke, his teaching.