For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner,
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
God did not rest because he was tired.
Surely you know the truth. Surely you have heard. The Lord is the God who lives forever! He created all the faraway places on earth. He does not get tired and weary (see Isaiah 40:28).
God rested to give us an example and an invitation. As an example he demonstrated that work, though full of dignity, was not meant to be seen as the greatest good. Rather we were meant to realize that simply to exist and to be in relationship is more important. We were meant to see that to simply exist was already good, just God said when he looked at the things he had made (see Genesis 1:31). After showing us this by way of example we ourselves were invited to enter into it. He called us to avoid the temptation to simply work for work's sake. Instead he called us to order our work toward the rest he first demonstrated.
Let us be on our guard
while the promise of entering into his rest remains,
that none of you seem to have failed.
We rest on earth to give preeminence to our relationship with God and with our families. But this rest points us toward a greater consummation of those relationships in heaven. To enter into that rest we must respond in faith during the "today" of this life. And this response cannot be a one time thing.
Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest,
so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.
It is we who believe who enter into the promised rest. Belief is what makes possible our obedience. It allows us to navigate the dryness of the desert that is all this life sometimes seems to be. The degree that we don't believe we invariable begin to grumble and disobey. When our will isn't aligned with God's will on the purpose of our life's journey the only possible result is sin.
There is a sense in which faith already attains the destination before we arrive. Each Sunday can participate in the full rest that is promised. Each moment, in fact, can share in it. But for this to be the case we must be sustained by constant believing in the promised rest God offers. This belief can be so strong that it elevates us out of our difficult circumstances and lets us progress on our pilgrimage in a way that is easy and light (see Matthew 11:30), that attains the rest even as we journey on.
Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Appearances make us doubt God's will for us on this pilgrimage of ours. Looking at Jesus without faith makes it seem as though healing and forgiveness are impossible. But we need healing and forgiveness to survive the desert. The journey's toll will otherwise be too great.
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
We who journey and we who doubt are called by the Son of Man to see and realize his authority. We have been progressing at the pace of a paralytic because we have not sought healing with the full faith God himself makes available to us. We have succumbed to the false rest of despair, sitting on our mats. Instead, let of hardening our hearts, let us hear Jesus speaking his words of healing and forgiveness to us.
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
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