“We which believe enter into rest” (Hebrews 4:3)
Hanging behind a check-out counter was a large sign which read, “There is a very good reason for this sign hanging here and you’re standing in front of it reading it. It is here to keep you busy. (P.S. If it’s not, please read it again!)”.
For some strange reason, we feel that we must constantly be busy, always doing something that looks or feels important. Though it is good to stay active, we need a good amount of rest too. It is an important part of our lives.
Hebrews 4:3 tells us that if we believe in the Lord, then we have a type of rest awaiting us. In the Old Testament times, people were involved in the continual act of offering sacrifices to God, and always working to maintain their relationship with God. However, today the perfect sacrifice has come; Jesus Christ offered Himself on our behalf. His sacrifice was the only one needed for us, and now it is up to us to accept it.
No longer are we required to be hard at work trying to please God or trying to meet some standard that we think God requires of us. If we know the wonderful result of a forgiven life, then we are given rest from our human efforts. This doesn’t mean that we will stop doing the task Christ has given us of sharing His love and the message of His hope, but it means that God has provided eternal life as a gift given to those who ask for it. It’s not about doing things to appease God, rather His rest is resting in His finished work that has once for all washed all our sins away and has brought us into an eternal relationship with the holy God of heaven.
The Apostle Paul tells us, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” (Titus3:5). We who have repented, and asked Christ to forgive us for all we have done in our life that has offended His holy nature have entered God’s period of rest. No longer do I need to strive after forgiveness, or trust in my good deeds, hoping I have done enough. Rather, I have rested from human labours, from trying to earn salvation, and now I trust alone in the blood of Christ.
There is no need to keep wishing and hoping that we have done enough, because Christ has done all the work to secure my forgiveness. Now I enjoy His rest, I rest from trying to please God, I rest from the worry of whether I’ve done enough. His rest will always remind me of how great His love is towards me, that He has done what I can never do. Today, thank the Lord for the rest He has provided in Christ for you, and serve Him because He is worthy to be served.