Rest A While

"Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.'' Mark 6:31

Regarding Mark 6, one author writes, "The disciples endured a stressful period ... At the start of the chapter, they were caught in a riot in Nazareth. In mid-chapter, they went out two-by-two to practice their ministry skills.  Then John the Baptist was executed. By the time we get to verse 31, we're told "There were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat." That's when Jesus gave them a command: "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." The author continues, "Our Lord often said, "Come to Me," but here He said, "Come with Me." Never leave Jesus behind when you take a break or a vacation. Your soul needs rest as well as your body. And notice the words "by yourselves." Don't drag the world around with you. Turn off your phone and ignore your email. Find "a quiet place," not a loud and pulsating spot. And note those final words: "Get some rest." God doesn't want you to live in perpetual weariness. He wants you to take care of yourself so you can better serve Him." In general, this makes sense. We all need to take time to rest and be alone with the Lord. However, when I read this I am reminded of something that is missing in this commentary about rest. There is no talk about resting from your spiritual or religious works. Hebrews 4:10-11 tells us, "for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience." Taking a physical break to rest our bodies is necessary or we will simply shut down. Often times, Christians are told that they must live their lives like the disciples were living in the first century. As one Christian said, regarding his past life of works, "Jesus was exalted and I was exhausted!" Too often Christian leaders never dare talk about the life of works they are preaching to their followers. In many ways, it is their teachings that chew up and spit out Christians to the point that they need a rest from the leaders. The breaks or the vacations the people take often end up with them leaving their churches and seeking new places of worship to attend, becoming spiritual nomads who may only show up at church on special occasions or they end up leaving the faith altogether because their idea of Jesus is as this relentless taskmaster who makes their secular and spiritual lives even more difficult to navigate.

One thing to make note of is that the Bible tells us, specifically in the New Covenant, that we are disobedient if we are trying to live a life of works. This doesn't mean that if Jesus tells you to do something not to do it. What this means is that the motivation for what you do should not be to do things for the Lord in hopes that He will reward you or, worse, punish you. Your motivation should be one of wanting to engage the world with what the Lord has already given you. Remember, a change of heart leads to a change of behavior. When you have been given everything, you are determined to give it away to those in need. And who doesn't need the unconditional love of God, His complete forgiveness of all their sins and the restoration of His life to a spiritually dead spirit? That is what God has given to everyone who has placed faith in Jesus Christ. The rest Jesus has called us to is an eternal rest, not just a break or vacation. The more you rest from your self-righteous works, the more you will begin to see the works of the Lord, He has prepared for you to walk in, reveal themselves to the world through you. You will realize that your life is not one of making time for Jesus, but one where you are taking Jesus into your time. Whether you are actively engaged in the work of the ministry or taking a break or vacation from life, Jesus is with you because He is your life. You will begin to see opportunities to share the Lord in every area of your life. Your personal life and your spiritual life begin to become one and the same. Resting with Christ is a lifestyle not a moment of your life. Your life is not one of serving the Lord by your works, but one of allowing the Lord to do His work as He lives His life in and through you. That is why the Apostle Paul could say, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)." We have been crucified with Christ in that we are dead to our former lives. Christ lives in us means that the Holy Spirit of God has come to indwell us and has resurrected us from the spiritual death we were born with into this world. To live our lives by faith in Jesus is to live each moment of our lives responding to the truth God is revealing to us. God, in Christ, loves us so much that He died for us so that raised from the dead He could give His life to us. If God has given us His life, that means we can rest from trying to give Him our lives because, honestly, we do not have a life to give Him in the first place. Go with Jesus and rest a while.