Autumn is upon us! It is, as an author once wrote, “The best of times and the worst of times”. I always try to get the worst over with first. “Hay-fever” hits me so hard that I feel like I have the flu. I think I called in sick for the first time all year last Monday because I stayed outside most of the previous Saturday. Thankfully the first “killing frost” will eliminate this problem.
Autumn is the best of times because it brings welcome relief from both the hectic pace and the oppressive heat of summer. It is like recess at school. It’s a break between the busy summer activities and the busy holiday activities.
It took a while, as it always does, but I finally found a philosopher who agrees with me about the enjoyment of autumn. Logan described fall as, “The Sabbath of the year”. I like that analogy because a Sabbath is a day set aside for worship and rest.
When people tell me they do not go to church because Sunday is their only day of rest. I would like to preach them a little sermon about what real “rest” is. What the Bible means by rest requires more than avoiding a scheduled activity. It requires a calming of the soul and spirit which operate at such a fevered pace during the work-week.
God’s offer of this real rest, as a result of real worship, was rejected by the people of Isaiah’s day. As a result God told him to write this verdict;
“He said to them, ‘Here is rest, give rest to the weary’, and ‘Here is repose’, but they would not listen. So the word of the Lord to them will be ‘order on order… line on line… a little here, a little there’. That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared, and taken captive.” – Isaiah 28:12-13
When they did not accept the Lord’s offer of real rest in exchange for real worship, they found themselves buried in activities and responsibilities until they were stumbling, broken, and ensnared by all the demands of life. Have you ever read a better description of modern life?
It is never really a choice of either going to church or resting. Only by keeping God’s Sabbath in worship is it possible for us to experience real rest of our body, mind, and soul. I do hope that you enjoy “The Sabbath of the Year” which we call autumn. I also hope to see you worship this Sunday.
Bro. Dennis