The Gift of Rest

Our culture tends to wear busyness like a badge of honor. We work long hours; we juggle family, church, and school responsibilities; and we take our work with us when we go on vacation. When people ask us how we’re doing, though exhausted, we take pride in sighing, “Busy!” We need to ask, “Are we doing all this just to be seen, valued, and affirmed?”

Leviticus 23 opens a section about feasts and festivals that God called his people to observe. These events created a sense of rhythm and structure for God’s people, and the first of these was the weekly Sabbath. Every seven days, the people were to set their work aside and rest. As noted in Exodus 20:8-11, resting reminded Israel that God, not their labor, sustained the world, and Deuteronomy 5:12-15 made clear that God, not their labor, was their salvation.

Today most Christians observe Sunday as their day of rest and worship. Why? Because Jesus, who rose on the first day of the week, gives us a greater rest than the people of Israel had in the time of Leviticus. Jesus’ death and resurrection mean that the work of perfect obedience has been completed; he has provided the rest that our souls long for. In Jesus we are free from the relentless work of trying to earn our worth and to live as if we bear the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Are you weary and burdened? Jesus invites you to find rest in him. Set aside time this week to enjoy the rest and worship that God graciously gives us.