Christ as Rest
There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God
Rest is a commandment.
Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest, you must rest.
The instruction to rest is quite emphatic. Even during the plowing season and harvest, when the work demands are overwhelming, you must rest. There is a day of rest, in addition to nights of sleep. The Sabbath is a wakeful, attentive state of rest.
Man is to rest from the work of his creations as God rested on the seventh day. God’s people have practiced it with some diligence over generations. Even in preparing Jesus’ body for burial, the women who prepared the spices and perfumes paused to rest on the Sabbath, as commanded.
Rest is a practice. Hebrews says that there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Something beyond the Old Testament realization is to be sought. Hebrews goes on to say that anyone who enters into God’s rest also rests from his own work. We are exhorted to make every effort to enter into that rest.
Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Jesus invites us to come to Him and find rest for our souls. There is a recognition of the toil and weariness of the soul that confronts man. Resting our souls in Him is the solution. The effort to come forward and enter this rest is needed.
Toil and turmoil are not necessarily problems to be grappled with. We can learn to respond by resting in Him. To stop, be still, and remain in Him is a learned behavior. The pursuit of the world demands activity, but the pursuit of God requires rest.
Rest is a reward. The presence or absence of rest also relates to punishment and reward. God declares, “They shall never enter My rest” to those who fall short in their response. In the judgment meted out to Babylon, there is no rest for those who worship the beast. On the other hand, those who die in the Lord will rest from their labors.
Rest is a remembrance. On the Sabbath day, we are fully awake, yet we rest. This is a rest in which our attention is toward God. Pausing physical work and temporal affairs creates a space for us to turn our attention. This simple act renews, recovers, and redirects us. The remembrance of Him while resting in Him is an aspect of the true worship God seeks.
Rest is found in the Good Land. The problem in Egypt was one of having to work as slaves without rest. The tyrant self, the inner Pharaoh, can be a relentless task master. The solution was to be led into the Good Land, a place where there is both work and rest while dwelling together with God. That is the ideal state.
The place of Sabbath rest is the Good Land. The land is a symbol of our consciousness. It is the place we dwell. What we dwell on becomes our consciousness. The Good Land is a good consciousness, one that is toward God. There is milk and honey in that consciousness. It is this conscious union in spirit that gives rest to our souls.
Our actions are reactions to what we perceive. Our activity is actually reactivity. Often, the activity is driven by false perceptions. Switching off that reactivity brings rest. When our body and soul rest, a whole host of silent, restorative activities occur. We must rest well to work well.
Rest solves most problems. Inner silence and reflection are curative. When we pay attention to our inner being and meet its needs, we experience clarity, insight, peace, and creativity.
During sleep, the body and brain automatically perform restorative processes. Practicing awareness while resting has a similar effect. Thoughts and feelings come up. Frustrations and longings emerge. All of these are presented to Him in our consciousness, allowing automatic processing. No reaction is necessary on our part. Just as the body knows what to do, the spirit within us also knows what to do. Prayer and petition are better choices than restless activity.
Contemplative prayer is part of the Christian mystical tradition. In it, the practitioner intends to be fully present to God in silence and stillness, resting in God’s presence. Christ speaks about withdrawing into the prayer closet and praying to the unseen Father. This inner sanctuary is a place of rest.
The priests found the divine presence in the Holy of Holies. Today, the believer is the temple, and the human spirit is the inner sanctuary. God, as I AM (pure consciousness), is present through the Holy Spirit in this sanctuary. This is the place of rest with “washing and renewing” of the spirit - the Good Land of today.
The Sabbath is part of the divine prescription. One must cease activity for a sacred time of rest, worship, and reconnecting with God. It must be kept holy.
There is a mental resistance to entering this rest. But the resistance will fade, and the boundaries between rest and work will blur, eventually. The practice and experience of rest is vital to our well-being. We must learn to rest. It is an essential aspect of living Christ as our life.
