“I’m not rested at all.” So said Diane this morning as we compared how we slept. Isn’t that revealing? The older you get the more you appreciate – and talk about – a good night’s sleep. No wonder, they’re harder to come by. Last night, almost midnight, Katie, Charlie, Drew and Jake arrived from Washington. They’re spending the weekend with us, a thrill, but waiting up for them threw our sleep out of whack. “I’m not rested at all.” “Neither am I.”
What a great reminder we’re creatures. Today people act as if we are God. We build and live in man-made cities, we process our food and buy it from our stores, and we design our physical bodies, Botox-ing age away, some even imagining we can choose our gender. I’m deeply troubled every time I see the AARP commercial in which a woman says, “I’m in my 60’s and have a long life ahead of me.” Oh yeah? Who says? Here’s a wonderful reminder, “I’m not rested at all,” that God is God and I’m not. The catechism teaches us to say, “I believe that God has made me and all creatures.”
When I was younger, a night of poor sleep was a big problem, no energy for things I must do! These days it’s not so big a deal; you just plow through it. The difference is a rested soul. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25). The art of Christian living in this frenetic, self-serving world is keeping your soul rested in the promises of God. That’s why the Creator gave us Sabbath, to rest our souls in Jesus. “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
“I’m not rested at all” invites reflection on what you as a Christian hope for the most. “There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest” (Hebrews 3:9-11).
All that said, a nap later today will help. “He gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2).
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