There is rest.
6-8-20
I have some friends who checked on me and how I am feeling as a black man this week. They asked how I was feeling, and thinking about and articulating those thoughts was actually a good exercise.
I could only describe the feeling of being tired Yeah, things change but still. Legislation isn’t changing hearts. Education isn’t changing ego. Systems aren’t going to change sin. I’m tired of fighting but feeling like there is no “right” way to adequately fight. I’m tired of feeling like I should fight for the oppressed and give voices to the silenced when I am a part of that demographic. I’m tired of feeling like we have been fighting for the same thing for 400 years with seemingly no real solution to the initial heart problem behind it.
I was thinking about how tired, stuck, helpless, and hopeless I feel and God kept showing me flashes of heaven and the rest and comfort it brings. Whenever we feel helpless in the face of things we can’t control like oppression and death, it seems like heaven is always involved in the blanketed comfort statement. Now I may be weird, but heaven doesn’t really do it for me a lot of times. People love to talk about heaven but idk, it just never really hit before. I actually hate the phrase “Jesus is coming soon.” (Hate is a strong word but keep reading,) lol, let me explain. (And many of you probably feel the same) As what feels like a 1000th generation Adventist and 21x All-Pastors Kid first-team selection, I know I’ve heard this phrase entirely too much. The quantity at which we say it drowns out the quality of what it can mean to us. We hear it sooo much that the joy is taken out of the idea that Jesus is coming back. That may sound weird to you at first too but let me continue to explain my perspective. I feel as though the phrase “Jesus is coming soon” has been hijacked of its peaceful and hopeful connotation and replaced with a feeling of stress, urgency, and fear.
Instead of using the idea that Jesus is coming back as a way to give hope and something to glean joy and peace from, we use it as a fear tactic to bombard people with the idea that they must frantically scurry around and make sure they’re ready, or else they will be left behind and suffer because of it. This fear seems to only come about when you hold the underlying idea that it is you who must perform your way into heaven and the rest it brings. We all know we want peace. We don’t know everything about heaven but we know we want it. We just crave the idea that this earth isn’t all there is for us. We wanna be rescued from this pain. We know this. But there’s still a weird vibe that comes with the idea of Jesus coming soon and I wonder what that means about our thought process.
Let me paint a picture for you.
Say your mom goes to the store and tells you to clean the house before she gets back. If you don’t clean the house, you may be fearful while waiting for her arrival. The idea that your mom is coming soon may cause you to worry because you aren’t ready. But on the other hand, if you simply clean the house before she comes and are ready for her arrival, the idea of her coming and what that may mean shifts in your mind. Instead of fear, the idea would bring a sense of expectation, anticipation, and even excitement. I believe the reason that the idea of Jesus coming back soon comes with a sense of fear, worry, and often disinterest, is because we don’t really think or believe or know if we are ready.
We know we want heaven and the rest it brings. We know we want an escape. We know we want the peace and contentment that is heaven, but oh so often, we aren’t sure that we are ready. We aren’t sure that we’ve made the cut. Its been preached both consciously by belief or subconsciously because of the underlying human perspectives, that we must work our way to deserve heaven by cleaning out our hearts, making sure our good outweighs our bad, and subsequently “earning our way” into heaven. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. If we could deserve our way into heaven, there is no real purpose for Jesus.
We aren’t good enough. We aren’t wise enough. We aren’t good enough to make it in or reserve our spot. But Jesus is offering it as a gift. We just have to accept it.
John 3:16 is THE MOST used verse in the history of the world in my opinion.
For God so loved the world that he GAVE his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
God loved you first so he gave.
God gave so the only action left is for you to accept or deny that gift.
He is giving this peace. He is giving this escape. He is giving this rest we so anxiously seek.
Idk about you, but when I think of gifts, I think of Christmas. At Christmas, you don’t have to work for the gifts. At Christmas, you don’t have to earn them. At Christmas, you don’t have to deserve what you’re given. Gifts are given because you know the giver… actually more so because the giver knows you. And that makes God’s gift of heaven so much more beautiful to me. That changes so much and makes it feel sooo much more peaceful . We are being offered the peace and comfort and rest that heaven brings but it seems that we don’t understand what giving a gift means. We keep inserting that we must work for it in some way and that’s not a gift. That’s a payment. God is giving this to us for free. We just have to accept it.
Don’t let anyone tell you there is more work you have to do.
We miss out on so many blessings because we don’t accept the gifts of God.So my prayer is that we learn to accept Jesus as our ticket in. My prayer is that we trust Jesus enough to not only prepare us for later, but give us that peace, and joy, and comfort NOW!
We can have a taste of heaven's peace now and we miss out because we aren’t simply accepting the gift.
Eternal life would be torture if it wasn’t happy. Eternal life would suck if it wasn’t pain-free.
I believe Jesus is offering us a sense of heaven's peace, rest, comfort, and hope now! Whatever you’re craving.. peace, love, value, worth, joy... It’s yours. It’s available. Walk into it. It's paid for. We just need to believe it is actually here for us and walk into the peace Jesus has paid for us.
Idk about you but I need Jesus. I need his peace. It’s hard being in my most risk-taking and courageous stage of life but being afraid to live because people who look like me are dying. I need peace. I hate seeing my mom worry when I go to drive. I need security. I want to stop double-checking my appearance in certain areas of town to make sure I don’t “raise too much suspicion.” I need serenity. And I pray we accept the peace that accepting Jesus can bring.
I pray that we accept the promise of heaven that God is offering us.
I pray that you experience the comfort of heaven today.
Just accept it.
This is a self-supporting ministry. If you feel so inclined, please donate to $ThoughtsByPace on CashApp. It would be greatly appreciated!
