rest.

“Rest at essence is God-entranced, God-magnifying, and God-satisfied.  Rest is a bold declaration of the over-sufficiency of the goodness and grace of God.  It is treating God’s promises as rock-solid and unquestionable.  Rest is a conscious relishing of God’s gushing generosity and a relinquishment of our own self-sufficiency.

In short, rest is the only human response to God’s engagement that honors and satisfies Him.  All else is both deplorable and unacceptable.

Rest is the garden, the Sabbath, the feasts, the land, the worship of God’s people in the Old Testament.  Rest is the promise of the Gospel and the only path to life.  ‘Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy-laden,’ says the Savior, ‘And I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Paul in the apostle sums up the Gospel simply, ‘Rest your hope fully upon the grace that is brought to you in revelation of Jesus Christ.’

There were two lost sons in the story of the Prodigals, one who offered to work his way back into his Father’s favor, and one who reminded the Father of the favor he deserved for the work he had already done.  Both offered work as a payment for the gift of the Father’s fellowship, forgiveness and feast.  And to both He said, ‘No.’

‘Come in!’ was the only offer of the Father. ‘Cease from your work and celebrate my lavish extravagance and prodigal generosity and you will have Me and everything that is mine.’

Everything good starts with rest, grows through rest, and is sweetly tasted in the feast of rest.  And then comes Heaven.” Don Shorey