The disciple’s transformation
“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).
Discipleship is a journey of transformation. One of the most powerful examples of transformation in the Bible is the story of the Philippian jailer in Acts 16. Paul and Silas, severely beaten, were handed over to the jailer. He placed them in the inner prison, fastening their feet in stocks. And that night, he appeared to have gone to bed without a thought for their welfare. But the earthquake which woke him brought him to the same men to ask the question, “What must I do to be saved?” The jailer trusted Christ as his Saviour, and this transformed his life. He took Paul and Silas into his own home, gave them first aid and fed them. The cruellest of men became the gentlest of men. The jailer had learned instantaneously to become Christlike.
Pride and self-interest should not characterise the Christian’s life. Instead, Christ’s gentleness and lowliness of heart should be seen in us. Gentleness is the characteristic of consideration towards others, with a tender and understanding heart, that seeks their blessing. And humility should clothe us (1 Peter 5:5). As we abide in Christ, these features of the fruit of the Spirit are produced. Gentleness is associated with meekness. It is a spiritual attitude of dependence upon God. There is an absence of struggling and a calm trust in God’s strength and blessing. We see this in Peter when king Herod imprisoned him, in Acts 12. Herod intended to execute the apostle, but Peter was fast asleep, and an angel arrived to rescue him. The once self-confident disciple had grown in grace and rested in the Lord. Peter’s letters reveal to us how he had heeded the Lord’s words, “You follow Me”, cast his care upon the Lord, and humbled himself under the mighty hand of God. He knew that the Lord would preserve him spirit, soul and body.
The Lord wants us to be at peace in all the circumstances of life. We discover the Lord’s yoke of discipleship is “easy” or “kindly” because the Lord is beside us. And the burdens God asks us to bear are light in weight because He helps us to carry them. Meekness is not weakness; it is how God transmits His power through His people. We used to have a gas cooker which was getting old and was a little noisy and slow. The flames were high and you needed protection for your hands to lift pans off the hob. Recently we bought an induction cooker. You can’t see any flames or glowing elements. Instead, by the silent, invisible power of electricity, the pans heat very quickly, and you can safely pick them up. The power of God is not flamboyant or ostentatious. It is seen in the gentle and lowly Person of Christ, the most powerful man who ever lived in this world. When we abide in Christ, His power flows through us. In the Old Testament, Isaiah writes,
For thus says the High and Lofty One
Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
With him who has a contrite and humble spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).
As we follow the Lord as our Teacher, as we find our fulfilment by resting in Him, and as we take His yoke upon us, we are transformed into His likeness and become Christians who are “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).
