I was thinking about the phrase "rest in peace." This phrase has always bothered me. In thinking about why it bothers me so much, this is what I wrote:
What does it mean to rest in peace? Does it mean an eternity of uninterrupted sleep? What useful purpose would that serve? Sleep is meant to refresh and revitalize us so that we can function properly when we're awake. As far as I'm concerned, I am asleep. For all of my life here on earth, I will be asleep.
Right now I rest in the peace I have in Jesus Christ. Once I reach Heaven, I can celebrate in the joy that I have in the Lord Most High. I do not intend on ever resting once I die. My plan is to sing, shout, and dance because my heart will be filled with utter joy. I will have a satisfaction that I will never experience here on earth, and I do not intend on taking that lying down.
Once I reach Heaven, my pain will be gone. Now that is something to rejoice over! I will no longer need rest because I will no longer be weary. I am weary right now. This is why I rest in the hope that I have in Jesus. But when I die, I will celebrate in the fact that my hardships are over, and my new life, the way it was meant to be, has begun.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4
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2 comments:
I already said this (on your facebook note), but I'm posting it again here in hopes of sparking some conversation from others on this subject.
Where I think your problem comes can be summed up this way:
You say, "I will no longer need rest because I will no longer be weary." I would say, "I will no longer be weary because I will have perfect rest."
And I ask you once more, along with the other Inklings, have you read Keeping the Sabbath Wholly?
Oh Shabbat! How I love thee. What a blessing it is not to worry about being productive for one day of the week. I have not noticed it affecting my week in any other ways, but it is very encouraging to have this day once a week for fun stuff! It is the only way I am reading anything at all for fun (currently I'm working on Alexander the Great and His Time. Yay!). Sorry that this is not much of a response to your questions, Joanna. I'm in too much of a sending-responses-to-e-mails mood.
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