I learned a whole lot from my dad. He was a good father. But it was his integrity as a man of God and his example as a faithful pastor that made such an impression upon me. Dad was my role model and mentor.
In a fuller sense, Jesus is a role model and mentor for every believer. He is the supreme example on how to live life to the glory of God. In Matthew 11:28-29 Jesus extends an invitation to us in this regard: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.” Jesus wants us to come to Him and learn how He lived in order to find rest in the middle of our labors.
The word “learn” is the Greek word mathete that describes the activity of a student. It means “to find out; to strive for understanding.” Now most translations of this verse say “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,” but the Greek text literally says, “and learn from me.”
I was once a gymnast in college, and later when I was a youth pastor I coached our local high school gymnastic team. Often I would tell the kids how to do a particular gymnastic move and they would learn from me. But sometimes I would actually demonstrate the move and say to them, “Now do it just like I did it.” And they would learn by my example.
Well, Christ tells us that we need to be meek and lowly in heart if we want to find rest. That is how we learn from Him. But then we watch Him and see that that is exactly what He did. He was meek and lowly in heart, and so we also learn from His example. So then when we yoke up with Christ in the same harness, that is what we learn about life: we learn how to be meek and lowly, and find rest for our souls.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Do you want to learn more about life? Spend time with Jesus – you will learn a LOT about life!