Because most of the people in Jesus' time were farmers or knew about farming stuff, the Bible uses a lot of farming analogies. Here's one of them in 2 Corinthians when it talks about being "yoked" together. God's not talking about eggs...it's a farming tool to help two or more animals work together. Here's a picture to help you see what it means.
A farmer would put the heads of the animals through the loops so that they could work together to pull the wagon or the plow. The trick was that the yoke forced the animals to go in the same direction rather than pulling separately.
The point that these verses are making is that followers of Jesus can't be yoked with people who aren't following - we can't tie our lives to them too strongly. Some yokes are stronger than others. Obviously a friend is not as strong a tie as a husband or wife. God wants us to evaluate each of the ties that yoke us with others in life and be careful that we aren't being pulled off of the path that He is leading us.
- How do you think a strong tie with someone who doesn't follow Jesus can hinder your journey with God?
- Where should you draw the line when it comes to "yoking" with people who don't follow Jesus - friend, dating, marriage?
Pastor Dave
2 comments:
I think that you should try to keep away from liking people who aren't Christians. It'll probably get tougher as time goes on.
I found it interesting that the only two options with a believer and non-believer are that there is constant conflict or believer is dragged behind the non-believer.
I think I need to be careful of the people I hang out with. Yesterday, My mom and I talked and I decided to go hang out with some girls that I had stopped hanging out with because of their immoral...uhhh...ways.. :)
I thought it might be different, but it wasn't. My mom and I talked again, and she had a good point. You can be friends with nonbelievers, but don't expect to get your "friend needs" fulfilled through them, as a strong christian friend can fill them.
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