May the mumbling commence!
Twenty-four / seven, three-hundred sixty five just does not work. 24/7 and 365 is not sustainable. In the United States, we are driven people. The question is: What is it that drives us? What drives us to push ourselves relentlessly and ignore our need for rest?
It is a complicated question. No simple answer can be sufficient. One might say that fear drives us onward – fear of many different things. One might say that isolation drives us. We are built with a need for relationship. We are built with a need for rest.
What happens when someone gets their need for relationship filled with media? There is Hollywood and television and the internet. There is the video gaming world. There is the violence being played out around the world – both those types of violence easy to detect and those that go undetected.
The results are not always the same. Sometimes the results are mundane. Sometimes the results are horrific.
I cannot write this blog today without grieving for the tragedy that happened in Aurora, Colorado. The violence is senseless – violence that happens in the summer movie theaters’ silver screen. The violence played out at a midnight opening of the latest “Batman” movie is beyond senseless.
I cannot fail to see the bitter irony of the violence on screen and in that theater. I cannot fail to see the escapism of the theater and the irony of people giving up sleep to see a movie first. It is insanity.
Listen to the call of the author of Hebrews to rest – to rest in faith in the Lord. Leave fear behind. Find a place to belong. Find a place to understand and be understood. Find a place where it is okay to stop and rest and glory in our wonderful Creator. To do so is to fulfill a commandment of the Lord. Read from Hebrews chapter four:
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Verses 9-13)
There is a Sabbath rest for us. Resting in the abundance of our Creator is being obedient. Our own efforts are to no avail. Depend upon the Word of God. It will judge the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. I sit here and ask myself a question: Do I spend more time in the Word of God than I do in all other social media combined?
It is an important question to ask. The things that we pour into our thoughts and attitudes will shape our hearts. Shall I allow the world to shape me and be malformed? Or shall I allow the Word of God to shape me?
No, I will not be free floating in this world. I need an anchor for my soul. It is an anchor that the author of Hebrew talks about at the end of chapter six. This passage of Scripture inspired contemporary Christian musical artist Michael Card to compose his CD called “Soul Anchor”. Read the passage below:
Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. (Verses 16-20)
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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