Sabbath is an important part of our life in Christ. It is an interesting thing that a hallmark of our faith would be rest. Every religion in the world teaches people to “do.” “Do this to please God.” “Pray at this time.” “Offer this sacrifice to get this result.” In Christ we are taught to rest.
This goes all the way back to Genesis. For six days God worked. He made light, sun, moon, and stars; trees, plants, animals, and ultimately man. Then on the seventh day he rested, and He commanded a relationship rooted in rest. But this rest is not a matter of just doing nothing. This rest is a time to be with God as He pours out his blessings on us. It’s a statement of faith to take that day and rest in the Lord’s presence, and that is what God desires: faith. Now, as fallen people, the only way to experience that Sabbath rest is in the forgiveness Jesus won for us.
It sounds a little odd, but the author of this letter warns us in v. 1 to “be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” (“It,” being the good news of salvation.) He wants us to look back at what happened to ancient Israel, remembering that God proclaimed good news to them and saved them, but they disobeyed the call to faith. They focused in on the commands and the rules, and lost sight of the fact that their relationship with God was based on the promise that He had chosen them. Israel’s relationship with God was never rooted on what they could offer Him, or how well they followed God’s decrees. Their relationship was, as ours is, one rooted in God’s faithfulness and love, and we receive rest in what He has done, not what we are doing.
We are warned regarding falling into disobedience. And how do we resist the temptation to disobey? According to v. 11, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” To live the Christian life we need to set our burdens down and give them to the Lord. To have a life that reflects our Father’s love we must rest and receive that love. This is one of the reasons why attending worship is so important: there we sit and rest as God’s Word is spoken and the Sacraments administered. God is at work there. He is forgiving, strengthening, filling, maturing, and empowering us. While it is certainly possible to be a Christian without attending worship, those who do not experience that time of refreshment in their lives lose out on a great part of what God is offering us. And those who reject the time to rest in God’s presence run the risk of being found disobedient as they make their lives more about their thoughts and ideas than God’s word and truth.
Make no mistake, when we come into God’s presence this is no neutral activity. To rest in Him is to have Him probe our hearts, weigh our thoughts, and to be found wanting. God’s Word is living and active. It pierces and divides. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. For what purpose? To remove every bit of disobedience that separates us from Him. We are made aware of our failings, but reminded that our High Priest has paid for those failings.
We could walk through life constantly anxious, wondering if we’ve done enough to please God. Or, we could rest knowing that Jesus has sympathized with our weakness, and, while He never gave in to sin, He gave Himself to give us peace and rest in the Father’s presence. Rest is found when life is about Jesus and what God is doing, and not about us.
Father, help me to rest and have confidence in Jesus who did what must be done for me. Amen.
This goes all the way back to Genesis. For six days God worked. He made light, sun, moon, and stars; trees, plants, animals, and ultimately man. Then on the seventh day he rested, and He commanded a relationship rooted in rest. But this rest is not a matter of just doing nothing. This rest is a time to be with God as He pours out his blessings on us. It’s a statement of faith to take that day and rest in the Lord’s presence, and that is what God desires: faith. Now, as fallen people, the only way to experience that Sabbath rest is in the forgiveness Jesus won for us.
It sounds a little odd, but the author of this letter warns us in v. 1 to “be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” (“It,” being the good news of salvation.) He wants us to look back at what happened to ancient Israel, remembering that God proclaimed good news to them and saved them, but they disobeyed the call to faith. They focused in on the commands and the rules, and lost sight of the fact that their relationship with God was based on the promise that He had chosen them. Israel’s relationship with God was never rooted on what they could offer Him, or how well they followed God’s decrees. Their relationship was, as ours is, one rooted in God’s faithfulness and love, and we receive rest in what He has done, not what we are doing.
We are warned regarding falling into disobedience. And how do we resist the temptation to disobey? According to v. 11, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” To live the Christian life we need to set our burdens down and give them to the Lord. To have a life that reflects our Father’s love we must rest and receive that love. This is one of the reasons why attending worship is so important: there we sit and rest as God’s Word is spoken and the Sacraments administered. God is at work there. He is forgiving, strengthening, filling, maturing, and empowering us. While it is certainly possible to be a Christian without attending worship, those who do not experience that time of refreshment in their lives lose out on a great part of what God is offering us. And those who reject the time to rest in God’s presence run the risk of being found disobedient as they make their lives more about their thoughts and ideas than God’s word and truth.
Make no mistake, when we come into God’s presence this is no neutral activity. To rest in Him is to have Him probe our hearts, weigh our thoughts, and to be found wanting. God’s Word is living and active. It pierces and divides. It discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. For what purpose? To remove every bit of disobedience that separates us from Him. We are made aware of our failings, but reminded that our High Priest has paid for those failings.
We could walk through life constantly anxious, wondering if we’ve done enough to please God. Or, we could rest knowing that Jesus has sympathized with our weakness, and, while He never gave in to sin, He gave Himself to give us peace and rest in the Father’s presence. Rest is found when life is about Jesus and what God is doing, and not about us.
Father, help me to rest and have confidence in Jesus who did what must be done for me. Amen.
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