Rest

There is an idea out there that God is a task master. I am here to tell you today that He is not.

Now, the Bible is very clear that we have work to do. We have a calling to "go into all the world" and "share the good news." (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15) We are told that "idle hands make one poor." (Proverbs 10:4) And that,"If anyone isn't willing to work, he should not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)

All that being sad, God is also a God of rest. God is the one who originally gave the command to rest on the seventh day. "You are to labor six days but you must rest on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times." (Exodus 34:21) God rested from His labors on the seventh day and so are we to rest.

Hebrews 4 tells us that this "Sabbath rest" was what Jesus was talking of when He said:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

--Matthew 11: 28

The writer of Hebrews tells us that "the person who has entered His [God's] rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His." (Hebrews 4:10) When we rest we are taking time to do as God did. And as followers, disciples, of Christ that is what we are called to do...to be like Him, in His labors and in how He rests.

So enjoy your Labor Day. May you "make every effort to enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:11) that God has commanded and we so need not just this one day a year, but every seven days.

Doug