This week’s topic is that we need rest. We probably already know this is a physical and emotional reality, but it may surprise us to know God rests, and says we need it too. In fact, he commands rest in the first book of the Bible after God created the universe.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:2-3 ESV)

A few weeks ago, we saw that God worked, and that we were created to work with him. Now we see God rested. We are also created to rest with him…and share that rest with others.

To help, God gave a rhythm for rest and work. Six days of work, and one day of rest. It’s not equal, as work still outweighs rest. But it’s rhythmic and balances our need for creation and recreation.

God’s rest is the model for our rest. What is God’s rest like?

First, He stops creating. Producing, accumulating, moving, operating.

Clearly his work of sustaining continued – the earth kept spinning and the plants keep growing. But his work of creating takes a pause.

Secondly, he was satisfied with his work. It’s finished. Some things are complete, good, and need to ripen.
We can see these kinds of rest in us today – we need to kick our feet up and stop creating, and we also need to rest by enjoying and appreciating things like nature, art, music and more.

We’ll look in future weeks at how that looks in our context. But we won’t be suggesting this is about a particular day or practice that creates God’s favour and blessing in our lives. It’s about God having created us, knowing what we need, and giving it to us as a gift, if only we’d take it.

Question: What kind of creating do you do? It’s not just artists – people create order, learning, art, ideas, value, research, roads, buildings and more. What do you create?

Ryan Sim - June 18, 2013

Tuesday - Study It - The Golden Rule

Sermon on the Mount

Here's one of Jesus' most famous one-liners: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Then he went on: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:12-14 ESV) We'll look first at the first part – what's known as the Golden Rule. You may think this was nothing new. Haven't other teachers said similar things? Rabbi Hillel was once approached by a young man who asked him to summarize the whole law while the inquirer stood on one foot. He simply said, "What is hateful to yourself do to no other.” Socrates told a story of a Greek King: "Do not do to others the thing that makes you angry" Confucius was once asked, if there is one word to sum up the law of life and he answered, "Reciprocity: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." People will often repeat a similar idea today: you can do whatever you want as long as you aren’t hurting someone else. If Jesus is just saying what others have always known, it seems strange for him to pair this saying with a story about a narrow gate, and how difficult it is to live this out, and how few people will manage to do it. But in fact, Jesus isn't saying the same old thing, he says something very new! When this concept appears in other traditions, it's always in negative – do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. But Jesus says the positive: Go above and beyond. DO. He wants the motivations to be love, not fear. The object to be the other person, not self. The question to be, not how much I can get away with, but how much can I do for others. That's what Jesus was all about. We'll explore this more later this week. Question: Many have said ‘Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to yourself” – but only Jesus gives the positive – “do to others what you would want done to yourself”. If you were to apply each of these statements to a practical situation you’re facing, would they each lead you to different responses?

Related Topics: Law, Love | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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