On Becoming Un-equally Yoked

The Church today is missing a great opportunity to be UNequally yoked. When the idea of being “in community” consists mostly of life-stage gatherings and similar interests, we end up with a whole lot of sameness. Of course, sameness isn’t bad. It’s just geared for maintenance rather than growth.

When it comes to dating, every youth group kid is taught to be “equally yoked” (2 Cor.6:14), which is wise counsel. However, disciples only finding sameness makes it hard to embrace sent-ness. Meaningful relationships are supposed to be the means to making disciples (the thing Christians are sent to do). Many don’t relate to an agrarian world, but the bible was written in that context. Farmers yoke a young, energetic ox with an older ox to be effective in plowing. They find the younger oxen pushing hard at the beginning of the day, using up all their energy with nothing left for the second half. However, when bridled by a yoke with an experienced ox, the younger ox learned a needed rhythm to last the whole day and keep an even, sustained pace. The image is clear: Becoming UNequally yoked is the key to sustaining faith that bears fruit! 

Jesus brought a radically diverse group of people - who would’ve never run in the same social circle - SO THAT they might make diverse disciples. For him, fellowship, vocation, meals, prayer, parenting, bible study, and the poor among them was a means to make disciples. Every context is a laboratory to experiment with faith and usher in the kingdom while either making or being discipled! So, who’s your “lab partner”? My friend Peyton Jones says, “If the church is the car, discipleship is the engine.” I love how the idea of knowledge in the Bible is mostly relational. Discipling is about becoming known; Christ in you, another, and UNequally yoked in ordinary kingdom living.