There are those who think that resting is doing what they
like to do at the moment, enjoying a peaceful moment, sipping a
favorite drink. Still others believe it is having the sensation of
letting go of something that weighs heavily on their mind and heart.
There still are others who think that is about achieving a goal they
had set out for themselves.
All of these, of course, have their valid points. But I
believe there is still a higher metric that would best define what our
proper rest is and that would somehow integrate all these other ideas
about rest. And that is whether we manage to be with God at the end of
the day—or of our life.
Let’s always remember what Christ said in this regard.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest.” (Mt 11,28) We need to understand that our proper rest is when
we manage to come home to Christ. He is the one who solves everything,
especially those things that we ourselves cannot solve anymore.
We cannot deny that many of our ideas about rest can
satisfy only an aspect of our need for rest. If it is not in the
physical, then it is in the emotional or the psychological. If it is
not in the emotional or psychological, then it is in the mental, etc.
Not that these types of rest do not give us some real relief. They do,
but somehow only partially.
I believe the real issue about rest nowadays is that we do
not really know what our proper rest is. It’s a pity because
especially these days when many of us feel harassed and agitated,
tense and nervous because of all the problems, difficulties,
challenges, trials, pressures, etc., of modern life, there is a great
need to know and to enjoy the real and proper rest for us, one that
gives us true and lasting joy and peace.
Since this proper rest is hardly known and resorted to,
many of us have gone to all forms of escapism—from addiction to heavy
drinks, drugs, pornography and sex to serious cases of depression,
mental illnesses, and even self-harm and suicide.
There is a crying need to educate people about the true
rest that can only come from being with God. Of course, the big
difficulty here is that many people would think that involving God in
their search for rest would already compromise their freedom. “What if
I am not a God-inclined man? What if I am not a religious person?”
some would ask.
But that is precisely the challenge to face—how to convert
people so they realize that only in God would the real and proper rest
for us be achieved. They have to realize that God is a necessity for
us. He is not just an optional element in our life, though we have to
relate ourselves to him freely. We need him much more than we need air
or food!
We have to understand that the real cause of our
tiredness, feelings of harassments and nervousness, etc. is not
something just biological, physical, emotional or psychological.
Neither is the cause simply professional, economic, social or
political.
The real and ultimate cause is our detachment from God. It
is this sad condition that explains the many disorders and chaos we
can find around—so much anger, hatred, conflict, tension, etc. This
condition simply shows that we are detached from the ultimate and sure
source of life, energy, power, and of peace and joy.
We should do something about this sorry condition of ours.
Our proper rest is when there is joy and peace, a deep sense of
freedom and liberation, a burning desire to love!
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