Yoked

There are so many things we try to get across to our Junior High girls. One focus is on not dating until they are out of high school. Oh, we know they will be interested in boys, and boys will certainly be interested in them and there’s a lot of learning to be done between them, but that is so much better done in groups than dating alone, one-on-one.

Can’t be done, you say? I can point out several couples that have done it very well. Yes, you will see them sitting aside, talking closely with one another, sharing their thoughts without including others. Those around them offer them privacy, while being nearby.

These young people have made a commitment to themselves, to their current families and to the family they will create in the future. They will not bring into their family a number of potential problems, not limited to but including an unmarried pregnancy. They have the support and understanding of family and friends, many who learned too early the lessons we attempt to teach.

Sadly, even in junior high, these girls see the examples of others and learn that there is no such thing as ‘safe sex.’ In our class, one child saw a classmate’s reaction not only to her teenage pregnancy, but the confirmation that she and her baby are HIV positive.

That is not a childhood indiscretion, is it? Nor is it limited to a two-generation impact, is it? Perhaps she thought sex was simply for pleasure, that an unwanted baby could be aborted. She found there was much more. Enough to last a lifetime, however long it might be.

Christians are admonished not to do as unbelievers do. Their words, thoughts and focus on life have little in common. So, we teach them:

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14 KJV)

We’re a farm community, though we seldom see a yoked team, there is a familiarity with the concept. Farmers match their teams to get the best performance, otherwise they will not move together. People choose who shares their yoke – horses and oxen do not.

There is another yoke available, open to every person on this earth:

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30 KJV)

In the Old Testament the yoke was most often used as a symbol of servitude. Many verses refer to Israel being under the yoke of another nation. Christ does ask that we come to Him in service, but His service has great fulfillment. So should it be when considering marriage.

The decision to follow Christ is a very personal one, and must be made by each individual. It is life changing, that cannot be denied. It is rewarding, that also cannot be denied. So is the choice of a husband. Our girls should think about both decisions long and with great depth.

I pray our girls will find a young man equally yoked to Christ. They will have learned to walk with Him and are used to looking to Him for guiding their path.