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?
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We’ve been exploring the idea of a total reset in life – what Jesus described as being born again. It presents a number of challenges to us in our modern lives which are so complex and interconnected. What about our responsibilities, families, and so on?
Jesus is not talking about a life replacement, but reset and renewal. A reset is different from formatting a computer. One is destructive and wasteful, the other is refreshing and freeing.
We regularly talk about the world’s big story in these daily challenges. We were created to know God be known by God, to have God at the centre of lives. Then all humans rebelled against God, pushing him out of our lives. This was the beginning of sin, a separation between humans and God stemming from our desire to worship and rule ourselves, rather than reliance on God.
Human history is filled with evidence of this separation from God. What was God to do? God could reformat, start over, and pretend it never happened. But instead, we got a reset moment. God stepped into this world as Jesus Christ, and pushed reset.
He makes it possible for us to reset our lives, and has begun to reset the entire world – with a fresh start known as the kingdom of God.
In our lives, we get a second chance to live in a close, personal relationship with God, when we start practicing the kingdom of God.
Having tried the alternative, living to ourselves, now we can live under God’s care and guidance once again.
Considering the rebellion against God in our past, God doesn’t say “forget about it”. He sees, remembers, and does something about it.
The Kingdom of God is a reset world. Not the whole world yet – we just see signs and glimpses of it in people, and in God’s direct action today. We’re invited to start living into this now, and to become a glimpse of the kingdom of God in other people’s lives.
But how? Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
We’ll see tomorrow what that means.
Question: Where do you see signs of God’s “reset” world today?
When our computers get bogged down and unmanageable, we know to hit a reset button to simply start over. Wouldn't a reset button be great in life? We know it would be complicated, with all our responsibilities and routines to consider, but imagine the freedom and refreshment of a new start in life! What would you do differently? What would you pay more attention to, and what would you ignore? How would you avoid getting bogged down and broken again?
The great news is, in coming to earth as Jesus Christ, God has begun to "reset" our universe, our world, and even us. We're invited to start over with him, in what he calls his kingdom. We're invited to start a new life with a clean slate.
What gets wiped clean, and lived differently, when God resets our lives? We'll explore how God resets these key areas of our lives:
Reset: Goals
Reset: Time
Reset: Money
Reset: Work
Reset: Body & Food
Reset: Sex & Marriage
Reset: Family
Reset: Compassion
Reset: Nature
Reset: Society
Reset: Death
Join us for the next several weeks, and invite God to reset your life.
