Rest

I look back at my early youth and wonder how I could have missed the beauty of a great nap. I’m assuming I was like ay child that was always on the go. I used get tonsilitis all the time. I would start feeling better and immediately wanted to go out and play with my brothers. Sometimes my mom let me and more than once I ended up right back in bed. I need rest! I stayed up late last night working on the sermon. On top of that, my knees were really causing me pain. By the time the second service was done, I was exhausted. I lay down for a nice log nap. When I woke up, I felt so rested and renewed. I no longer see the nap as a punishment . It has now become a welcomed rest for the body. Speaking of rest. Today is the Sabbath for Christians. It is a day of rest. When God said that, I don’t think He was envisioning a good long nap. As a matter of fact, we must note that it was a Sabbath rest unto the Lord. In other words, we were to find our rest in God. The Jews made the meals the day before so that they didn’t have to work on that. They came up with the number of steps that were allowed on that day. In many ways, this day of rest was to take our minds away from all the things that we think are so important and making sure God had His rightful place. I think sometimes that the Jews had so many requirements for the Sabbath that their rules destroyed any possible rest. Jesus identified Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath. That paints a clearer picture of how to keep the Sabbath Day holy. By honoring the Lord of the Sabbath. How do we honor Him? By making sure we gladly hear and learn His teachings. At one point, Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” He is not speaking just of a physical rest. I think it is pointed much more to being filled with God’s peace that truly satisfies the soul. The rest of the passage goes on to talk about how God would share our burdens so that they don’t overwhelm us. My first thought is that as Christians, do we do enough work that we need that rest? Have we exhausted ourselves doing God’s will? I sometimes wonder how soft we Americans have become. We use so many devices today. I wonder how they used to survive years ago. We find our help in the work of Jesus Christ. Father, Help us first of all to be obedient to Your call, wherever it should lead us. May we find our rest in You every day. Amen