Rest

It is good to be back from vacation and vacation was a good time of rest. I was reminded of how necessary rest is. Our physical bodies remind us of this every 24 hours. (I suppose it is less than 24hrs.) And while some of us may be irritated–or even rail against this reality–it is part of our existence. That our physical bodies require rest should also remind us that our spiritual selves also need rest. Rest from the noise of the world; rest from distractions; rest for God.

Indeed it is rest that the Lord promises to his own: It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep (Ps 127:2). And there is the eschatological rest–the rest at the end of all things; rest with God–promised in Hebrews: For if Joshua had given them [Israel] rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his (Hb 4:8-10).

As we navigate and journey through this life, we are to see rest for what it is: a preparation, a foretaste, an appetizer. It is good for us to rest well. At times our busy schedules do not allow copious hours for rest. Well enough. Let us at least carve out sixty seconds to pray the Lord's Prayer, pray a psalm, meditate on a well-known portion of Scripture. For in so doing we halt the traffic of our lives for a moment to allow the motorcade of God to pass through. And maybe, hopefully, as he does pass by in those moments, we might catch a glimpse of him. What a sight.

Grace & Peace