Rest

One of the benefits of retirement Mister Bill and I have come to enjoy is a daily time of rest. Can't say it always happens, and sometimes it's only thirty minutes or so, but what a difference it makes in the rest of our day this short time of ... rest. Jesus says to the weary, "come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). How very sad we have to be told to rest. Even when we know we are weary, we must be told to whom (or where) to find adequate and sufficient rest. One thing we all know is that life wears us down. One thing I've found to be true: even from faithful devotion [of time and energy] to good and eternal things, there's a need for rest. Perhaps the greatest hindrance to finding Jesus as our resting place is failure to realize our own spiritual poverty. Jesus spoke blessings and favor upon the "poor in spirit" in Matthew 5:3 ... those who realize they are absolutely unable to give themself the spiritual rest they need. No, it's not a week at the beach, a day at the spa - not even a mid-day break. Jesus says, "come" - set aside all your busyness, your striving, your grand ideas and solutions. His is the the invitation for perfect, lasting, sufficient rest. He says ... "Come to Me."