Our Patterns

Naturally we seek to “go Go GO!” Accomplish this. Finish that. Multitask while multitasking. Do it better than her and him and him. Do it faster than them as well. Pass out on your pillow at the end of the day. Rinse and repeat. We cannot help it, it’s the pattern of this world.

And yet, we see a different pattern at the beginning of time.

At the end of the Creation account in Genesis, God ceases to work and rests. How strange. He does not get tired (Isaiah 40:28). He did not need a break. And yet, He rested.

Didn't He realize all the work He still had to do around His creation? Maybe if God hadn't rested on the seventh day there would not be pesky mosquitoes ruining camping and picnic foods. Maybe if God hadn't rested, a meteor would not have destroyed the Earth on 12/21/12. And yet God pronounced His creation “very good” and rested the next day.

For some reason, we see in the Creation account that God placed priority on a pattern of living. Rather than giving into the lure of accomplishing more, creating more, working more and finding more ways to be busy, He started with a lifestyle pattern that included rest.

But while that was God’s perspective on the Creation account, humankind had a different perspective. Here this Loving Wonderful Awesome Creator brought man and woman into being with instructions “to be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the Earth” (Genesis 1:28), but then the next day rests. Their first day they rested?

Didn't they know that there was stuff to do? TV’s to buy? Errands to run? Cell phones to purchase, then customize their ring tone, then download a bunch of app’s? Come on Adam and Eve, you are out of style!

It seems that God had a different plan when He created humankind. In His grace, God granted them rest before living out His commands. A lifestyle pattern of going to work out of the feeling rest and refreshment. As opposed to working to exhaustion, and then having to take a break.

Working from rest is not easy to do at first. It will not happen naturally in our culture. And yet, there are habits and patterns worth forming. Let’s choose to trust the Creator to show us the pattern in which we should live.

Invitation to Rest  

Every week we're going to provide some suggestions for resting that we like to call "Invitations to Rest".  Here are this week's:  

• Reflect on what makes you feel rested and rejuvenated. Possibly write down a list and make time to do them.
• Start small and make a plan.
• Give yourself grace in this process.

Dinner Table Discussion

We're also going to provide some discussion starters to be used with your family, small group or friends.  Here is a couple to start with: 

• Why are people drawn to “rest from work” rather than to “work from rest”?
• When was a time that you worked from rest? How would you describe that experience?
• The blog talked a lot about patterns of living, read Romans 12:1-2. How does the blog relate to what the Apostle Paul is writing?

God Bless,
Paul Scholz / paul@hopecenter.cc