Labor every day, to enter His rest

I remember when my little girl, Pearl was still learning to walk. She’d first start to learn to sit, then stand, then walk. How well she walked, would depend on how well she sat down and gathered up her strength, before she stood up and sprang up to walk.

Our Christian life is also like such baby learning to walk. We need to sit first. Because Eph 2:6 “God raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.

Sadly today many Christians are still restless, still cannot sit well, still cannot believe that the work of Jesus is truly complete and finished. They are still trying to complete a completed work, finish a finished work and defeat a defeated devil. They would work hard to attain their salvation overlooking the finished work of Jesus, as if the cross never happened. How ? by trying to earn their own salvation by focusing on observing the Law of Moses. (“bless me when I obey, and curse me when I disobey” instead of obedience to the faith in believing Jesus’ finished work on the cross)

The problem with this kind of Christianity is life becomes restless, there is no peace nor joy; when they succeed over a sin temptation, they’ll feel great, they will be cheerful, recharged and laborious in their daily work, working like superman; because they feel they have earned God’s blessing. By the same token when they fail in a day, eg. committed a sin / loosing their cool, be angry with a colleague, they will feel miserable for the whole day or week, and feeling lousy in their work, everything seems bad, heaven seems so far away, and hell seems so near. Their life is like a little boat alone in the ocean, being tossed up and down by the waves of daily life, the ups and downs, the successes and failures. There is no peace, there is no sitting down, how can they even stand up and walk ? They have forgotten, that God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Co 5:21). So, believers, you are already righteous in God’s eyes ! Now embrace that righteousness and reign in life ! Jesus has come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly (Joh 10:10).

God wants us to stop trying and start trusting in His love for us. He wants us to stop working and struggling by our own effort. Stop looking at our own ability as there is no beauty in yourself, you will only see ugliness if you focus on yourself; even when you do good it will never be good enough to you. Start focus on resting and believing in His Grace towards us. Self work (Law) condemns even the very best of us, while God’s unmerited Grace saves the very worst of us. God wants us to look at Jesus, and you’ll see all the loveliness in His person, and the perfection of His finished work on the cross.

The only “work” left for us to do today is to enter His rest. We are to labor every day, to enter His rest. We are to rest inwardly and believe that the work is done because it is a finished work, and trust in God’s undeserved favor toward us. We are to rest in Jesus our true ark, who will carry us through tempestuous waters. Even when we fall and made mistakes, hey!, stand up and walk again, that mistakes have been paid for by Jesus already, just be thankful to Him and walk again. Don’t stand there and condemn yourself, because Jesus has been condemned for you. Jesus wants you to walk with Him no matter what come may.

So today, “if you hear His voice within you, in your heart, follow that Godly desires He put in your heart, God speaks inside us as if we speak to ourselves, because in the New Covenant of Grace, God the Holy Spirit is inside, not outside, …do not harden your heart…be diligent to enter that rest” (Heb 4:7, 11) Let us enter His rest. Let’s enjoy sitting together with Christ in the heavenly places, then we will run and not be weary (Isa 40:31).

Remember this: How well we walk, depends on how well we sit and rest in Christ’s finished work.

Eternally in His service,
John M Lu & Aileena