Pastor's Corner
July 2007
"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
Genesis 2:1-3
Dear Church Family,
God “rested”? That’s what the word of God says (see above) but what does it mean? It cannot mean that God was tired after His six days of creating the world as we are after a long day at work. In fact we read in Isaiah 40:28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired…” God does not need “rest” as we do as human beings, and yet God did “rest” in Genesis! His rest was a stoppage of His creation of our world. It was a time where He looked at His creation and said, “it is very good”. It was a day of God’s evaluation of His work and as my son often says, “it’s all good!” Indeed we celebrate that creation with every waking moment as the heavens and the earth declare the glory of our Lord!
There is more going on here though. Later in Scripture God reveals that this seventh day is also a model for human beings to take the seventh day as a day of rest from their labors. In the Ten Commandments God says (Exodus 20:8-11) to take a day of rest to remember Him in a special way. This basis again is that God Himself “rested”.
So, putting all this together, we realize once again that rest is a time God has built into our world and into us! We are certainly meant to rest in taking time to honor our God as holy but also for ourselves to enjoy and appreciate the “good” God has created in our lives and world. In other words, God has built into us His own priority of stopping to see the world around us and to appreciate it and ultimately Him!
In this summer season as I watch our folk in the church coming and going on vacations and taking time to rest and re-create, I am pleased. This is not because I want people gone from our fellowship as I miss them all when we cannot worship, minister and engage together! I am pleased because I see God’s people taking the time to follow our God’s example and to rest from our labors. Whether it is a long or short time, whether it is near or far, whether it is lavish or on a shoe-string budget, it is still a break from the routine and a time of “refreshment for your soul”.
God has given us a gift in setting the example of rest. In a world that stresses “go, go, go”, God has built a rhythm of rest to slow us down, make us pause and to encourage us to appreciate life itself. I pray this summer will afford you an opportunity to take the time to rest and recharge, to change the routine and chart a different course on the inevitable river of your life. Our God gives us a gracious and generous gift of rest. Stop. Pause. Listen. Pray. Think. Reflect. Recharge. Read. Rest in Him!
Serving with you,
