Rest
Lora Parsons
Ashland Beacon
For the last few weeks, I’ve had the word “rest” tumbling around in my head. I think it’s been the result of our recent Sunday school study on the book of Ruth. It might be my very favorite example of how an Old Testament account can so clearly point to Jesus. The image in my mind of Ruth going into the threshing floor of Boaz in the dark of night, in the vulnerable state she and her mother-in-law find themselves in is a beautiful representation of our state in this world before meeting Jesus – without hope, without permanent connection, without a sense of home that family ties would give her. Her reputation was shaky at best, and she was unknown in a world where familial structure ensured one’s security. But she followed her mother-in-law, Naomi’s instructions, and laid herself at the feet of Boaz, in a tender exchange that showed us exactly how we should approach Jesus, our own Kinsman-Redeemer.
I can so vividly see myself, laying at the feet of Jesus, with His blanket of mercy and grace and love folded over me, exactly enough to cover over my own shortcomings and failures and sins – those things that I’d only approach Him with in the dark of night where no one else could see those stains on who they think I am, the hidden parts of me that only He knows. She lays all her vulnerable self at the feet of her kinsman-redeemer. Just as she is and, she’s accepted. I think it was unconditional acceptance that she felt from Boaz even before this moment, when she was in the field. He offered her water and food – basic necessities that she had no assurance of before going into the field. He offered her protection from the other men that would have been in the field also, sheltering her from outside threats. And, in this moment on the threshing floor, he provided her with covering, a sense of being clothed. He met all her basic needs, and she was able to REST.
While her physical REST (in the sense of relaxing and sleeping) was able to come because the REST (in the sense of all, or entire sum) of her needs had been fulfilled, in true Yahweh fashion, there was more to REST going on than we can fully see. It appears to us that Boaz has taken care of the REST of her needs when he takes her in and agrees to be her kinsman-redeemer. What we’re reminded of, though, is that our loving Heavenly Father not only satisfies our immediate needs like shelter and provision, but also for our greatest need – our spiritual well-being. I think we can only experience the one meaning of the word “rest” when we also experience the other meaning of the word “rest.” “Rest,” meaning the ability to relax, to breathe, to just exist in a state of calm is one thing. But it’s temporary.
At some point, the work must resume, whatever that work might be. We can’t JUST spend our lives at rest. “Rest,” meaning complete, entire, all of whatever remains is another sense of the word that relates to a portion of a whole. We can’t fully know the deepest kind of rest at the soul level until we give all of ourselves to Him. Yes, we can get a degree of rest when we make our requests known to Him. We can get a degree of rest when we share our needs. We can get a degree of rest when we ask for forgiveness of sin. But we fully REST when we give THE REST to Him – when we give all of ourselves to be wholly submitted to Him.
When we hold nothing back, when we lay our whole self – the whole of our life – at His feet and wait for Him to direct the next step, then we know true REST, a satisfaction within that can’t be shaken by the turmoil of our schedule or the surprises that life throws our way. When we give all the REST of us then we find a REST that can only be given by our own personal Kinsman-Redeemer. If you’re struggling to find that sense of peace despite whatever is happening around you, maybe a rest under the corner of the blanket of Jesus is just what you need this evening. Read (or reread) Ruth and see yourself in her. See Jesus in Boaz, and rest by giving the rest of you to our Kinsman-Redeemer.
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