Unforced part 1
"It just needs a little elbow grease." That's our solution to most problems. Try harder. Make it happen. Force it to work. But that's an Old Covenant mindset. Jesus said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). That's the whole mindset of DO in order to BE. The violence of human effort trying to take the Kingdom by force. But notice He said, "UNTIL NOW." Because when Jesus arrived on the scene everything changed. He wasn't a priest of the Levitical system of the Law of Moses. He didn't come to cover up our sins. He is the Lamb of God who TOOK AWAY the sin of the world. Sin, of course, being unbelief. He took away the lie that says you have to do in order to be. He brought us out of the bondage of sin and death and translated us into the Kingdom. We couldn't do it, so He did it for us and as us. We couldn't get there on our own merit or in our own strength. No matter how hard we tried we couldn't take the Kingdom by force. And now, because of the cross--because the work is finished--we don't have to take it at all. We can receive it and release it. We can rest. And I know the concept of "rest" gets a lot of attention in Christian circles. I know it's something we all desperately want. But it's not something I necessarily think we completely understand. So for the next couple of days I'm going to Rant about rest. Not because I have it all figured out, but because I write in order to figure it out! So this is what hit me yesterday when I was talking to a friend about rest: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly" (Matthew 11:28-30 MSG). Rest isn't something we just DO, or something we fall into. Rest is something we LEARN. Like everything else. I tell my three year old son Logan EVERY DAY that as long as he's learning and growing... it was a good day. And that's how it is with rest. We know the work is finished. And yet we still run around trying to finish it. Because we don't know what it means to rest. We don't know how to rest. And the only way to learn how to do that is to walk with, and work with, the One who finished it. To see how Jesus behaves now that He has finished the work. And here's the key to THAT: It's not Him AND me, it's Him IN me. It's Him AS me. When Jesus reveals Himself TO us, He reveals Himself IN us and THROUGH us. So we're not looking at Him and then trying to do what we see Him do. That's right back to works and labor. You can't force it. It's the UNFORCED rhythms of grace. So I guess what I'm saying is: Don't stress about rest. Focus on who you are in Christ, and who He is and you, and learn to let it flow. Stop worrying so much about what you're doing (or not doing) and simply begin to BE who you really are!