So on the seventh day He rested from all his work ~Genesis 2:2
In the 1960s, the Senate created a Time Management commission because they feared that our technological advances would radically decrease our work hours over the next 20 years, and people would be forced to retire too young. 40 years later, though, the opposite has happened; we live an overscheduled lives with little downtime.
God had not imagined this lifestyle for his creation. While certainly He calls us to work hard on his behalf, he also exemplified the necessity of downtime. Do you ever wonder why Genesis mentions that God rested on the 7th day; why not skip over that detail? In our 24/7 worldview, it would seem like a character flaw for the God of the universe to take a break and enjoy His creation. Yet, perhaps it is because God understood our proclivity to taking our work and ourselves too seriously.
Even Jesus routinely stopped his “work” to enjoy a good party, have dinner with someone, to worship, to rest. This is what upset Jesus’ contemporaries; he was enjoying life too much (Matt 11:19). While we are probably more apt to picture Jesus preaching before a crowd then having a one-on-one meal with someone, those were more likely his daily interactions.
It is in these moments that we slow down that clarity of life and faith come alive: “For many of us the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”
If you could have two free hours this afternoon with no responsibilities, what would you do? What things are distracting and making your life feel rushed right now? What might God want you to take a rest from?
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