Rest...

"Here's why I'm telling you this: taskmasters are masters of half-truth. They couch their harangue in just enough reality that the whole thing has the ring of authenticity. It's true, in part what they say: there is no end of things to do. I am a touch  on the lazy side and disguise this with busyness. There is a crowd of people disappointed with me, who find me, by turn, indecisive, despotic, timid, rash, evasive, blunt, foolhardy, wise in my own eyes, foot-dragging, impulsive. I do procrastinate  overmuch and at the same time make too many snap decisions. Most of my life is unfinished. Many of my efforts are slapdash and slipshod.

It's true.

So? The lie mixed in here is that, because it's true, I have no right to rest.

And actually, that's true too. I have no right to a lot of things: my health, my home, my family, my salvation. May as well add rest to the list.

But thank God that God could care less about our rights. What God cares about, and deeply, is our needs. And it's this simple: you and I have an inescapable need for rest.

The lie the taskmasters want you to swallow is that you cannot rest until your work's all done, and done better than you are currently doing it. But the truth is, the work's never done, and never done right. It's always more than you could finish and less than you had hoped for.

So what? Get this straight: the rest of God- the rest God gladly gives so that we might discover that part of God we're missing- is not a reward for finishing. It's not a bonus for work well done.

It's a sheer gift. It is a stop-work order in the midst of work that's never complete, never polished. Sabbath is not the break we're allotted at the tail end of completing all our tasks and chores, the fulfillment of all our obligations. It's the rest we take smack-dab in the middle of them, without apology, without guilt, and for no better reason than God told us we could."
-Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God

Comments

[jane]

Love it...LOVE IT! and, thank you from your mom, who was just told by a second doctor that I need to learn how to relax and rest properly.

Hum...God wants us to. Thank you, Father, for always knowing what I need; what WE need.

[Rich]

good stuff to read as i am on vacation this week...

[Rachel]

That was beautiful! Thanks for posting it, Bob. I've been home for the last two weeks recovering from hernia surgery and I'm amazed at how guilty I feel because I'm not getting anything accomplished. Except emergent nutjob pajama blogging, of course. :-)

[Doug]

Thank you. God knows I needed that this week of all the weeks ever...

[Billy Rhythm]

Hey, nice read. As a full time worker with a part time job, the lawn frequently could use a mow on Sunday afternoon. I need to feel less guilty about the nap and family time.