Oak Hill Baptist Church © 2008-
Let me confess a sin. You may judge the significance of this sin. I suspect
my confession may lead you to some self-
Rest is a key spiritual concept. We rest in Christ for our salvation, no longer
needing to work to win God’s approval. We look forward to the rest of heaven, knowing
that one day our labors to live a Christ-
Yet beyond these rests we are to rest in our Lord everyday, no easy matter. We are troubled by so many things: the growth of Islam ready to take over Europe, the deterioration of the U.S. economy only a year or so away from a depression, the decline of the church with people more and more ignorant of the Bible, the unlimited opportunities of our children to find a unique skill that must be developed, and the availability of so many gadgets and so many vacation experiences that will fill our dull moments (not to mention “must see TV’). So we restlessly run through each day faster and faster.
Here are some antidotes to the restlessness of our age.
Spend some leisurely time with a senior saint, someone in the last few years of life. Unless he has squandered his life and is regretting days gone by, he will have a peace that is anchored in eternity. I visit Dorothy Brownfield every week in her hospital room since her stroke. I am not sure she knows me. She recognizes her son. For years she and I have talked from time to time, and on each occasion she expressed a readiness to go home. I talk a bit with her, read scripture, pray, and sing hymns and gospel songs. There is a distinct aroma of eternity in her room, and my own restlessness is put in perspective.
Spend some leisurely time with a kid. Do not focus on buying them something. Focus instead on their childish (in a good sense) need for companionship and learning. They are eager to know that their lives, so small and inconsequential, have value to adults. Caden Mohr came to our house a few weeks ago for a visit. He and I accomplished quite a bit. We planted flowers, set a trellis for a clematis, put up a screen tent, and pulled up dandelions. Our activities were not hasty, jobs to get done, for he had questions and comments that needed attention. These were peaceful minutes as was supper and some wrestling in the living room.
Spend some leisurely time in the Bible. Since God’s word leads us to the mind and heart of our Lord, it is the rock of our lives. On Monday’s I usually translate the portion of scripture for the coming sermon. While I have great confidence in our English Bibles, working in the Hebrew and Greek forces me to slow down and consider words, tenses, and how sentences are put together. The bustle of meetings and people fades into the background as the eternal word of God puts everything into perspective. Read the gospel of John, for example, and shade the word “life” or its synonyms with a colored pencil. The next day read it again and shade the word “truth” or “faith/believe” with another color.
Spend some leisurely time in thankful prayer. Several times each year I try to spend most of a day in prayer and meditation. I usually go to a park (Dolliver, Brushy Creek, etc.) and just walk. The first two hours or so, I do little more than thank God. His grace gives us no end of things from family to salvation to food to friends to springtime to a roof over our heads to the indwelling Spirit. What he has given is far more than what is left of our needs. Again eternity resets our clocks when we give ourselves to thanks.
Perhaps you noticed the word “leisurely” in each of my suggestions. The word means “free from pressure.” When we spend time free from the pressure of the world, we affirm eternity. It is not like the society around us. When we spend such time, we train our minds to enjoy eternity, God’s very presence in us. “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).