"Stay!"

A beautiful command

“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.” Matthew 11:29-30

When a dog master commands his dog to “stay” after throwing a toy for him to fetch, the master is training the dog to obey his voice, not give in to the desire to go get the toy. As the dog stays, he is eagerly waiting for the command, but must learn to stay. The act of staying in itself is very easy. The dog just sits. Doesn’t move. Doesn’t waste energy. All that staying requires is stillness. I bet if the dog could talk, he would say, “Staying is so hard. All I want to do is go get the toy. I just want to run and bite the toy with my teeth. I hate staying. It’s so difficult.”

I think we as humans like to blame abiding like a dog would blame staying. The act of abiding is very easy. What Jesus has invited us into is such a light burden and an easy yoke that it’s laughable how we complain. We have so many toys we are after. So many desires boiling in our minds, ready to overflow at a moment’s notice. Remaining where we are feels like torture. And because the feelings of abiding seem so laborious to us, we blame abiding. Abiding is very simple, much like the dog staying.

If I could gather all of what Jesus did in one day and create a schedule of how the messiah abided in his Father, it would look like this: He would walk and enjoy conversation with the Father before the sun rose. Then he would eat breakfast with the disciples and share about the kingdom. His entire work day would be consumed with having compassion on people. After work, he would eat a meal with people and share more about His Father and the kingdom at hand. Last, he would take a walk again and close out the day with his Father. Walk, eat, compassion, eat, walk. If we are honest, we would probably say that our day is so much more complicated than the days the Savior of the world lived.

Rest for our souls seems far-fetched. When we think about abiding in Jesus, we quickly run through all the thoughts and assumptions of how we should abide. We must read the Bible more. Pray more. Serve more. Attend more. Repent more. Did I say read the Bible more? We have weaponized these things against us and shame ourselves for not desiring to live this exhausting way of faith. We blame abiding. We blame opening up a love letter which tells us more about the personality and character of our Father. We blame talking with God like it’s some strenuous task that takes all of our energy. Rest for our souls is impossible with this way of thinking.

Why not begin by blaming the toy? Blame the schedule. Blame the activities. Blame the desires. Blame the bad habits, the workload, the expectations, the keeping up with the Joneses mentality. If you were to compare the act of “staying” and the act of your “doing,” I think you would agree with me that staying isn’t the guilty one. Proverbs 4:23 says to, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Are springs of life coming out of us, or are polluted ponds full of bacteria and fungus flowing out of us? We have dumped so many things into our hearts that we can’t help but blame God for this laborious, far-fetched task of abiding. It should be that we are so disgusted with the heavy yoke we have put over our shoulders that we would give up and yoke ourselves once again to the light burden and easy yoke of Jesus. To walk with him, converse with him, eat with him, and have compassion on others.

The moment we rise, we are hit with kids sports activities, deadlines at work, medical bills that need to be paid, home repairs, oil changes, family drama, bodily ailments, obligations, health goals, and then throw on top of all that the shame of not doing the so called “laborious task of abiding.” Ephesians 5:15 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Figuring out what the best use of our time should look like is not something we should be in charge of. We obviously have done a poor job at it. Let’s look to the way of Christ, the author and perfector of our faith.

I don’t think we begin this journey of not blaming abiding by canceling all our commitments or implementing some new unobtainable goal to be a disciplined follower of Jesus. I think we start with a walk. A 2.5mph walk with some enjoyable conversation alongside the one who traded glory to be with us. We begin by staying. Wait for the command of the master. He might just say, “stay.” At this point, most likely, every fiber of your being is going to want to sprint to the toys and forsake staying. As you stay, you might be tempted to blame abiding and say, “it’s so hard to be with the Lord.” Don’t do it. Keep those words out of your mouth. Stay. Listen. I think you will be surprised at what he says. He will look at you in the eyes as you look back at him and from the lips of the creator of the world might just come, “I love you with an everlasting love.” Imagine what that would do for your being. What if he said, “my child, where are your accusers?” Do you know how life changing those words are? What if your assumptions of what your Heavenly Father might say are actually words the enemy planted in your mind and, out of fear of hearing something not true, you avoid him altogether? Once again, this way of thinking is casting blame on abiding. It’s convincing yourself that “staying” is too difficult. Blame the lures. Blame the bad habits.

“As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” Hebrews 3:15

We have heard him say, “take my easy yoke upon you.” We have heard him speak, “my burden is light.” We know his language. Have we really hardened our hearts towards his invitation? Have we blamed abiding and not the desires for toys? Does “staying” really seem far-fetched?

What if we learned to walk in the garden alone with him like the old hymn says? To contemplate the dew that remains on the roses. To experience joy in his presence that few would ever choose. To tarry and linger and abide with him. We must hear his voice. His commands are not burdensome. When he says, “stay,” he is not giving us some ultra religious task to accomplish. We must not look at our toys and assess the powerful desires for them and then turn around and point the finger at “staying.”

Walk with him. Literally walk. It’s something we humans have done since Adam. Eat with family and friends with the purpose of fellowship and talking about the kingdom at hand. Have compassion on people in whatever you do. Eat again. Walk again. Enjoy the light burden and easy yoke Christ said we can have. Model your day after the messiah. After all, your schedule would never compare to what he is doing, and yet he still stayed with the Father while walking on earth.

Obeying the master’s voice is the greater option than obeying our desires. If we can’t learn “stay” as he is teaches us to go after toys once he says “go,” then what do you think would happen when his command to “stay” is not obeyed when a car is coming? He is training us with basics and yet we are asking for revelations. If we can’t control our desires and stay with him on a walk, then how are we supposed to handle great and hidden things that we have never known? His commands are to give us life and yet we blame them as death. It’s a light burden to follow Him. It’s an easy yoke to wear. He is so gentle. His heart is for us.