In the early part of World

War II, when it seemed that England was about to be

invaded, Winston Churchill rallied the people with those

memorable words: "We shall fight them on the beaches

. . . we shall fight them in the fields and in the

streets, we shall fight them in the hills."

When asked to comment on

those words, a high school student with a fair share of

humor and reality said, "It sounds just like our

family vacations!"

I hope your summer vacation

wasn't all bedlam, but rather a truly relaxing

experience. If it was, you may be feeling a little sad, a

little let down, because Labor Day will soon be here

signaling the time to get serious and get back to work.

But what I hope you don't feel is guilty about enjoying

rest and recreation. Some folks do. Actually, when we

take time away from our everyday routines to relax, we

are following a tradition that could even be called

biblical.

Scriptures tells us that

"on the seventh day God finished the work that He

had done and He rested." (Genesis 2:2) What is more,

God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. In reading

this creation story, notice that God did not give His

special blessing to the six days He worked but only to

the day on which He did nothing but rest.

From time to time, our

sagging spirits, our spinning heads, our sputtering

hearts and our tired bones all need to be refreshed,

relaxed and renewed. Many of us are reluctant to take

time out. But it's downright egotistical to think we can

or should keep going when God gave us a very different

example. The book of Genesis also says that you and I are

made in the image of God. And just as God took time out,

we can be sure that we need periods of rest, too.

More than that, quiet time

for yourself offers a golden opportunity to take stock of

life: "Am I really being the person God wants me to

be? Am I really doing what God wants me to do? Am I

really doing all I can to make Christ visible in

me?"

In Tom Hansel's book,

"When I Relax I Feel Guilty," a man tries to

manage his life without anytime for rest and reflection.

The result is he finds he has no time to think about God.

He foolishly wishes that, rather than develop an ongoing

relationship with God, he could just pay for it, like a

bag of fruit or any other commodity: "I would like

to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my

soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup

of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine . . . I want

ecstasy, not transformation, not a new birth. I want a

pound of Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3

worth of God, please."

Of course, we can't buy

God. We don't have to. God gives Himself to us freely and

unceasingly. In the midst of work or leisure, trouble or

contentment, God is there. It's simply that when we put

aside the things that keep us so busy it's easier to see

just how close He really is.

Over the Labor Day weekend

make time to consider the very first Worker, all He made

and our part in Creation. Then rest and "rejoice in

our hope of sharing in the glory of God." (Romans

5:2)

For a free copy of The

Christopher News Note, LIVING THE SABBATH, write to The

Christophers, 12 East 48th Street, New York, NY 10017

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