Sunday, May 25, 2014

At Rest With God

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

Recently, my youngest niece sent some photos of the veterans' cemetery where my fathered was buried in February, including this one of his headstone:


This was the first time I had seen my father's headstone. Its simplicity is appropriate for a man whose life was characterized by his unassuming and humble demeanor. I was especially interested in the final line: "At rest with God." These four words punctuate a life spanning eight decades. The word "rest" and its variations are often used when referring to those who have passed on. I suppose this is because the toils of life have finally ended.

But I began thinking about this statement, "At rest with God." I understand the sentiment it is trying to convey on the headstone, that my father is now enjoying his eternal rest in the presence of his Maker. But do we have to die before we can be "at rest with God"? Is there no rest to be obtained while we walk this earth?

Sadly, the whole concept of "resting" has pretty much been lost on modern-day Christians, especially in this country. We have been sold a bill of goods that says, if you go to church for an hour (or two if you're a Pentecostal), you've satisfied your weekly "rest" requirement. But attending church services is not what God had in mind when He declared a Sabbath rest for His people, nor is it what Jesus had in mind when He called His followers to come to Him to enjoy rest from their burdens.

As a former pastor, I always struggled with the concept of a "day of rest" since Sunday was my busiest day of the week, if not the most spiritually exhausting. The most rest I usually enjoyed on a Sunday was a nice long nap in the afternoon. As a bi-vocational pastor, I still had to put in a normal work week starting Monday morning.

So how do we obtain this elusive "rest" while we're still drawing breath? In the Old Testament, God's instruction to the Hebrews was to abstain from doing their regular work on the Sabbath. This regulation extended to their beasts of burdens as well as their servants (Deuteronomy 5:13-15). God knew that we require a regular day of "recharging our batteries" - physically, mentally and spiritually. Modern medicine has proven that we have a regular seven-day cycle that has to be reset in order for us to maintain overall health. Those of us who continually override this cycle of work and rest eventually see the results in fatigue, health problems, sleep disorders, and general dysfunction in our relationships. Like many things commanded in Scripture, observing a Sabbath rest isn't just some random idea; it serves a very real and practical purpose in our lives.

In the New Testament, Jesus invited us to come to Him to enjoy a different kind of rest. Because Jesus follows His invitation to rest with some additional requests, I don't believe He was talking about the same type of rest that was implied in the Old Testament law:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

In order to understand this rest, we need to first understand who it is addressed to: those who are weary and burdened. But weary and burdened from what? Jesus gives us some clues in the following verses.

"Taking His yoke" implies being joined with Him in a common purpose, as when two animals are yoked together to plow a field or pull a cart. The implication is that when we are at odds with His divine purpose in life, we will become weary and burdened. So much of modern Christianity is performance-based, and quite frankly, it is creating a Church full of zombies. Christians who are burdened with trying to "act like Christians" have the appearance of being alive, but they really are somewhat dead inside. Jesus did not die on the cross so we could spend our entire lives trying to earn our salvation, or prove that we are saved. The mission Jesus called us to is pretty simple, but most churches would rather teach their rules-based doctrines instead. Jesus commanded us to love God and one another. Period. He wasn't interested in our doctrinal stances, our avoidance of anything "sinful", or the amount of time, energy and resources we devote to the church. He just asked us to love. And when we love, that love expresses itself in ways that are especially pleasing to Him. The parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 is an example of things that are done by those who love. He didn't commend the "sheep" for attending church, tithing, going on missions trips, or teaching Bible studies. He commended them for taking care of the needy, the downtrodden, the invisible people of our society - acts of selfless love.

Jesus said that, if we learn from Him, we will develop a gentle and humble heart. Gentle and humble hearts are often lacking in modern Christianity, yet these are what most closely resemble the nature of Christ. When we learn how to have a gentle and humble heart, we will find rest for our souls. We won’t be worn out from our attempts at self-promotion, comparing our spiritual progress against other Christians, competing with other ministries, or from any of the other things that are so prevalent in our modern churches which tend to put the spotlight on us instead of Christ. People with gentle and humble hearts will be more likely to notice the unmet needs of those around them, and do something about them. They defer honor and prestige to others while they quietly work in the background, yoked to Jesus.

Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. If you feel burdened and weary, perhaps you're not properly yoked with Jesus, and missing out on the rest that He freely offers. Take some time to evaluate where you are in life, what you're spending your energies on, and who you are trying to please. Make changes where necessary so that you can enter into the Sabbath rest that Christ has invited you to enjoy, now instead of when there's a stone laying above your head.

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day, and a blessed week!

Pastor David

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