Energetic Rest

Hebrews 4:9-11 (NRSV)
So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs. Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Colonial Christ@Work started on May 16, 2004. We are entering our third year of this ministry. We have brought the Word of God, living and active, into our daily lives and it has brought us to a time of rest. Time to reflect on where we have been, where we are, and what direction we are facing.

One effect this ministry has had on me is that I am moving away from what I will call "believism". I no longer think it is sufficient to receive Jesus as my Savior, raise my voice in praise of Him each Sunday, and graciously accept the gift of eternal life sitting in a chair with my hands folded. My belief has put me on the road to heaven and in the company of a billion other believers. There. Done with that.

To quote my favorite pastor, "Faith is a verb." Belief is only a noun. I am starting to grasp the depth of that distinction.

I no longer think it is sufficient to hold the Word in my head without letting it breathe into and back out of my heart and soul. I could memorize the entire Bible cover to cover, believe every word of Truth in it, and still have it be nothing more than a table decoration in my life. Just knowing and accepting the Truth is only going to lead me to heaven. I once thought that was the Big Deal. Now I am realizing that there is more to a life in Christ than that.

As I learn each day new ways to receive Him, depend on Him, follow Him, my dependence on my self dies away. As I learn each day new ways to step out in faith, you know what I am finding? Rest. Relief. Release from worry. Release from tension and strain. True freedom.

Jesus is wholly adequate to work through me to accomplish all that needs to be done. I don't need the old me. I don't need to try to straddle both worlds. I can let "me" die completely! In God's typical upside-down inside-out last-is-first way, the more I let Him act through me, the more energy I have and the more profound my feeling of rest. Active, vibrant, energetic, productive — rest. How odd!

And as we learn from the verse this week, the doorway to enter into this profoundly odd life of rest is the Word of God. Believe it. No, Jim, don't just believe it; have faith in it. Let it convict you. Breathe it in. Breathe it out. Spread it around.