How many conversations have you had today that went like this: “What have you been up too lately?” “Oh, we have been busy.” Being busy is our cultural norm. Everyone is busy. Young people are busy with lots of school work, practices, and social commitments. Their parents are busy with work and keeping track of their kid’s activities. Retired folks quit work so they can be busy doing everything they wanted to do and everything everybody else thinks they now have time to do. We are all so busy. In fact, you feel like there is something wrong with you if you are not busy.
We don’t stop to rest. Christians can be so busy we harm the cause of Christ, because of our harried, frayed lives that demonstrate out of wack priorities. Our world resembles the processionary caterpillars of French naturalist Jean-Henri Fabre. The scientists lined the caterpillars around the edge of the flowerpot. They began walking in a line in a continual circle. After three days, he added their favorite food pine needles to the center. But they continued to walk for four more days in a circle unwilling to break rank to retrieve the food source until they fell over dying of starvation.
These little caterpillars illustrate our culture. They highlight the plight of the American family. We are so busy going around in circles trying to keep up with one another that we fail to nourish ourselves. We need to understand that our bodies and family life were created to be sustained on rest. Jesus told his disciples when they returned from a teaching campaign, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Jesus himself made time to get away and rest.
Rest is rejuvenating. It refreshes our spirits and allows us to have energy to engage the challenges of the future. In the famous 23rd Psalm, David has his soul restored by being made to lie down in green pastures. The Lord sees the need for us to rest. Don’t feel guilty for resting! God himself rested as an example to us when he finished creating the world. Regularly hear the words of Jesus, “rest a while.” You will be better at home and at work because of it.
