Advent Devotional - December 24, 2014

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus / Born to set Thy people free / From our fears and sins release us / Let us find our rest in Thee"

-Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Rest is a significant idea that is portrayed in both the Old and New Testaments. There are examples of rest from war, rest from work, and so forth. But all of that rest, though in some ways manifested in physical means, points to a much greater spiritual reality.

From an Old Testament vantage point, the longing for the coming Messiah had in view the benefit of the rest that He would bring. The thought was that the Messiah might give the people of Israel rest from their enemies by overthrowing them. But with the New Testament in view, it becomes clear that God has in mind a rest that is more extensive, a rest that could even exist in the midst of oppression from enemies. And that rest is made available to us in Christ, even now. Jesus beckons in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” In Christ, believers can rest from their need to appease God, to gain His approval. Those things are granted in Christ, and could never be successfully attained by us in our own merit. What we are talking about here is a spiritual rest that calls us to put all of our hope in the perfect, finished work of Christ. All of our efforts cannot achieve this rest. But, thanks be to God, Christ’s efforts have.

Hebrews 4:1-13 calls us to enter into this rest. But the picture in Hebrews 4 is a rest that has been given to us even now in Christ, but has not been given fully. So there remains a fullness of rest for the people of God that will not be enjoyed in this life. At present, we still strive and struggle against sin. But there is a day coming when we will no longer do so. We will enter the promised eternal rest of God and our striving will be no more. And as we anticipate that day, we can sing for it and pray for it with longing hearts. With Revelation 22:20, we say, “Come Lord Jesus;” and with this song, we sing, “Let us find our rest in Thee.”