Rest and Abiding

During a drive running errands I saw a makeshift memorial by the side of the road with the familiar acronym:  "RIP" or "Rest in Peace."  After a person dies, their body is laid to rest because their lives on earth are over.  The body ceases to function and there remains no more work for them to accomplish.  My mind went to the rest Jesus promised to all who are weary and heavy laden, that He would give rest for our souls.  This is a different kind of rest because it goes beyond the physical realm we can see and we can spiritually experience it before our life on earth is over.

Hebrews 4:8-11 reads, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience."  The writer of Hebrews makes it clear there was a rest for the children of Israel many fell short of entering when their carcasses fell in the wilderness, and though people eventually took possession of the land there was still a rest for them.  The fact Jesus invites people to find rest for their souls by faith in Him proves there remains a rest for God's people that extends beyond acquiring land, houses and rest from war.  The word "rest" defined in the Greek gives us a better understanding of a word which is broadly used, most often to denote a break due to fatigue.

"Rest" is defined in the Strong's Concordance as, "reposing down, i.e. (by Hebrew) abode."  It suggests an inner calm free from the turbulence of worry, fear and cares of this life.  It is pictured in the sheep that lays down in a green pasture because the presence of the shepherd brings a sense of protection and security.  Jesus alluded to this abiding rest in John 15:4-5:  "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  This abiding, this rest is a contentment realised only by faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to Him.  Many people labour to be accepted of God and perhaps place great emphasis on feelings of affirmation and positive emotions.  The rest God provides transcends our thoughts and feelings because it is spiritually obtained by faith in Christ alone.  Our feelings are better at conveying when we are not at rest than when we are.

A follower of Jesus Christ must be diligent to enter the rest God has promised because our abiding does not work like justification.  Our abiding in Christ is a conscious act of the will to humble ourselves and trust Jesus in our current situation, and there are many inferior substitutes to the rest God gives.  The world offers pleasures, properties, the cliche "wine, women and song," early retirement, money, power, fame, travel, holidays and luxury.  All these are full of labour and provide no rest for our souls.  Knowing who Jesus is, how He loves us, believing and receiving from Jesus by faith when we feel weary enables us to enter into the rest God provides.  The Bible exposes our thoughts, motives and reveals how far we are from experiencing the LORD's rest.  Hebrews 4:16 concludes, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

This world is full of labour and will one day pass away.  We are born into this flurry of activity which resembles a proving ground to see if we will rely upon Jesus the Son of God, upon ourselves or pursue fleeting feelings which pass for "rest" in this world.  Every day we have countless opportunities to be diligent to enter the rest of God by faith marked by obedience, and not one of us need fall short.  The branch does not choose to be connected to the vine, but we have a choice if we will abide in Christ:  that because the Good Shepherd is near we will lay down in peace and security though we hear the howling of wolves and the roaring of lions.  What can separate us from resting in Jesus and His love apart from our unbelief?