rest

In 100 Years

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” Matthew 16:25, 26

We make many, many choices every day but rarely do we take a good look at the basis on which we make them. Many choices may seem to have little consequence but that may be to underestimate the effect that a choice may have in the long run and on other people.

Paul writes that anything that our sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory we will experience in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:18). Earthly things are passing away and all that will remain is that which is eternal. The two are so far apart as not to be worthy of comparison.

In the passage above Jesus affirms that worldly treasure is only for a moment but eternal treasure is forever. It is an absurdity for a person to disregard an eternal possession (Ephesians 1:11, 14, 18) for one that will die with our bodies.

King David did make a comparison in Psalm 37 but as we read the Psalm it becomes quite evident that he realises there is no comparison. Those who choose ungodliness will lose everything for which they laboured but those who trust the Lord (v 3), delight in the Lord (v 4), commit their way to the Lord (v 5), rest in the Lord (v 7) and wait on the Lord (vv 9, 34) will have an eternal inheritance (v 18). The two destinies are not worthy of comparison.

There is no relationship that is worthy of comparison with that which we have with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “If any one comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Elsewhere we are commanded to love others especially our parents, spouse and children but what He is saying to us in this passage is that the love we have for them is not worthy to be compared with the love we have for Him. The reason for the disparity is who He is relative to whom our family members are.

When we make our myriad of choices during the course of the day it will be helpful to us to always have in the back of our minds whether we are choosing for the short term or eternity. We might ask ourselves, “What will it matter in 100 years? What will be the eternal consequence of that choice?” That might help us in the decision process.

God is no Liar

“Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience” Hebrews 4:11

Rest in this context is the ceasing from our efforts to please God by keeping moral and ritual law or through service, and resting in our new relationship with God through the completed work of Jesus Christ. This is the great divide between religion and true Christianity.

The main impediment to experiencing that ‘rest’ is refusing to believe what God has said. This was Israel’s problem when Israel first approached the Promised Land: “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:19). When we don’t believe what God has said we will disregard His counsel, directives and commands. This is, in effect calling Him a liar or deceiver. Israel “did not enter because of disobedience” (Hebrews 4:6). We choose not to obey because we think we know better. This was Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden and is the root of all sin. We can hardly expect to remain in fellowship with God while bringing His character into question by calling Him a deceiver or liar.

Both the Apostle Paul and the writer of Hebrews state that it is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18) and Paul also states that God cannot and will not act contrary to His nature (2 Timothy 2:13). Jesus said that He is truth (John 14:6) and the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 15:26) who comes from the Father. The testimony is that God is truth and will not and cannot lie. To suggest otherwise is arrogance in its extreme and follows Adam’s example.

The writer of Hebrews exhorts Christians to be diligent in believing what God has said and demonstrate that we believe God by doing and living as He says. This is what James affirms when he wrote, “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). Clearly, the “rest” means serving the Lord and His people and not putting up one’s feet and being idle. How we live our life will reveal whether our faith is genuine or not. When we hear God’s word on a matter and believe what we have heard, we will act upon it as He has directed without finding it a burden (1 John 5:3). If we adjust, dismiss, ignore or reject any of God’s word it reveals that we do not believe Him, perhaps even that we do not want to believe Him.

How can we know whether we are expressing true faith? The writer of Hebrews explains, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

The Word of God has a way of revealing whether our faith is genuine or not. As we read and study it the Holy Spirit will show us where our heart lies. A heart that welcomes the word of the Lord and is guided by it is one that knows the love of God and has no fear of His wrath.

“Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentile and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Finding Rest

“In returning and rest you shall be saved” (Isaiah 30:15)

All of the attributes that God has given to mankind have been corrupted in their application and use. Making alliances is one of them. Even very young children make informal alliances in order to feel safer. Some of these are, or may become, genuine friendships. The alliances we often call friendships will not stand the tests of adversity or affliction that life brings whereas genuine friendships will. “Fair weather” friends are alliances that collapse under the pressure of personal cost.

Like most nations of the world, Israel made alliances with other nations for reasons of safety and protection. They had been specifically commanded by the Lord not to make any alliance, especially with Egypt. Alliances may give the feeling of safety but history shows that they are unreliable. Egypt did not protect Israel from Babylon and was itself overrun. How many of the great alliances of old have lasted? Is there a person more than a few years old who has not been let down by a “fair weather” friend?

The medical world tells us that family and faithful friends are an extremely important element in the recovery of a patient. God has made us with the need of mutual support. He has also made us with the need of a friend who we know will remain faithful no matter the circumstance. In the hymn, “What a Friend we have in Jesus” we sing:

“Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

“Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

“In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,
You will find a solace there.”

Further on in this chapter of Isaiah (vv 15-20) we have the Lord appealing to Israel as the father does in the parable of Jesus we call “the Parable of the Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11-32). We see Him eagerly waiting, full of grace (vv 18, 19), for Israel to return and rest in Him (v 15). He has the same attitude toward people even today.

To whom do we go for advice and counsel (vv 1, 2)? The answer that most people would offer is that they go to the worldly experts. We want expert opinion but frequently expert opinion changes. It is most sad when people who call themselves Christians do not seek counsel or advice from the Lord (the only true “expert”) but seek it from the experts of this world.

As the father of the prodigal son waited, so the Lord is waiting to pour out His grace on all who call out to Him in faith. “He will be very gracious to you (vv 18, 19).” This is to say, His cup of grace is overflowing toward the one who comes to Him. He may have sent “the bread of adversity” and “the water of affliction” but only so as to bring us to the place where we return to Him to receive the outpouring of His love and grace.