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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Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I'm Ryan your host of the Daily Challenges. Here we are in nature. And that's because this week we're studying how following Jesus resets our views of death, and in fact, Jesus resets death itself. We saw yesterday how western culture ignores, delays, avoids, fears death.
The result of ignoring it is that we are uninformed! We can be uninformed in a practical sense – having given and received no sense of one another’s funeral wishes, burial options, etc. until it’s too late. But we can be unprepared in a spiritual sense as well.
Paul, one of first Christians leaders wrote this to the first church community in Thessalonica.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 1 Thess 4:13-14
First, we should deal with what he calls the dead: those who are asleep. What might he be saying? There are various theories about just HOW death is like sleep for Christians, but Paul doesn’t go that far. We can simply note that he’s talking about those who have died, and says there is something akin to sleeping happening with them.
Clearly Paul and these first Christians had expected Jesus to return, usher in the full kingdom, before any of them died. The “second coming” seemed that imminent. The letter was written sooner after Jesus’ death than many other letters, and they were clearly full of anticipation and excitement. Then some died, and you can imagine the questions and discouragement as they realized their expectations were out of line. So Paul tries to explain Christian death, and says they are essentially sleeping.
Why is sleeping good news? Sleeping means time passes unawares. Sleeping is peaceful. Sleeping is part of life, not death. Those who have died in Christ are in many ways alive, but at peace, and waiting patiently for God’s kingdom.
Sleeping is hardly worth grieving about! When they wake, they will be in the fullness of God’s kingdom of heaven. The Bible has lots of imagery about that, but the bottom line seems to be the presence of God. That’s what makes it worthwhile, not golden roads, clouds or cream cheese.
Question: How do you respond to the idea of death being a sleeplike state? How is it different from other descriptions you’ve heard? Does it give you hope, or fear?
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.
