Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. (Psalm 100:1-2)
When Messiah went preaching throughout the Galilee and Judea, He often encountered and confronted the religious elite of whom He said, “They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:4). In other words, some of the religious leaders in His day made serving God a chore, and a difficult one at that. Not only did they make life burdensome, but through their religious edicts, some people were transformed in a way God never intended. As He said, “You travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves“ (Matthew 23:15).
In response to this errant imposition, Messiah encouraged the people to “Come to Me, all you 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” (Matthew 11:28-30). Take note that He did not say a yoke was unnecessary; to the contrary, a yoke is needed to properly govern our behavior that we might walk in the way that is right before God. However, He stressed that His yoke is not one under which we will collapse and die of exhaustion trying to attain the impossible. His yoke is a benefit and one that guides us in the ways of eternal life; through Him we can do all things because He strengthens us.
Understanding this, the psalmist says that we should serve the Lord with gladness. When we come before Him, it should not be an agonizing chore but a choice we are delighted to fulfill. We should approach Him thankfully and gladly, so much so that we sing His praises with joyful hearts. In short, serving God should be a matter of a willing heart and not of religious rote. And so as Paul encouraged us: “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Messiah” (Colossians 3:23-24).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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