Every so often I read things in the Bible and laugh.
No, really. I’m not laughing at God, of course. I’m laughing with Him, because I’m pretty sure some of the things He said made Him laugh, too. Or, at least chuckle.
Like what He told the first man and woman to do after he told the first man and woman what to do. Yes, it’s a weird sentence, but hang in there with me and allow me to explain.
On the 6th day, God created Adam and Eve. On that same day, He gave them a list of things to do. I’ll summarize the list here, but feel free to check it out for yourself in Genesis 1:28.
On the day of their creation, God told them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue the earth, and rule every single creature on the earth.
If I asked you to use one word to describe what that sounds like, my guess is that you’d say the word “work.”
Me, too.
But what amazes me is what God said to them next, or, more specifically, on the next day.
It was the 7th day, and it was the day that God rested. But it was also their 1st day after being made, and the 1st day after being given a list of things to do.
So on their 1st day, they rested, too.
God basically said, “Hey! I’ve created everything, and I’ve made you to oversee it. It’s a big job, and you should get right on it. But first, take a nap.”
Um, what?
The reason that sounds so weird to us is that we have a “work for it” mindset. We work hard, so we can play hard, and so we say things like:
This job is killing me. I really need a vacation.
Or, on the first day back after the vacation:
I really need another vacation.
But what God had in mind is that we would rest first so that we could tackle the big calling rested. He wants us to work from rest, not for it.
And once you start intentionally practicing a rhythm of rest and Sabbath, you’ll stop thinking about how weird it was for God to say rest first, and work second.
In fact, you’ll start doing what I’m doing in this blog post: you’ll start telling others to stop before they start.
Don’t worry. They’ll only look at you weird once. After they start, they’ll think you’re a genius.
Just tell them it was your Father’s idea.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
