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 (Matthew 11:28-29).
The apostle Paul writes to the Galatian church these beautiful words of a mother’s heart, “my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19).
Paul compared himself to a mother in labor. He had experienced the pains of birth for their salvation, now he was in travail again for their deliverance from false teachers. Paul longed for these believers to be “transformed into” the very image of Christ, to “take on the form of” Christ. He knew this was God’s answer and purpose for them. Their success in living the Christian life would rest on their apprehending Christ, that He would live His life in and through each of them (Galatians 2:20). When Christ has been formed in us by the Holy Spirit, we will live as He lived.
“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” (Matthew 11:28-29). Jesus invites us to “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” He testifies that He is “gentle and lowly in heart.” When Christ is formed in us, we too will walk humbly before God and man. When Christ has been formed in us by the Holy Spirit, we will also reflect His fruit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
When Christ is formed in us, our character will exemplify His character and nature. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of man. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
When Christ is formed in a believer, he will portray the life of the One who lives in him by the Holy Spirit. From now on, your answer to all things will forever be “Christ!”