It seems a long time ago now, but back in May I had a
meeting with my Probation Supervisor (I started as a Probationer Presbyter in
the Methodist Church of Great Britain in September) as part of preparations for
starting in full-time ministry. Amongst the
things we discussed was the need for me to book a week’s break sometime between
1st September and Christmas.
I must admit that I was sceptical that I would need a week off so soon
after starting but I had the common sense to listen to him and book that week
off. I’m glad I did as I’m now in the
middle of that week off and feeling the benefit of it.
I don’t know if I’m typical, though conversations I’ve
had suggest I am, but because I’m in full time ministry with a stipend I’m
finding that I’m working harder and putting more hours in than I ever did when I
had a job and earned a salary: because I’m working for the Lord so directly and
enjoying serving him as a presbyter, and serving the people of the churches I
have pastoral oversight of. It is such a
joy to be doing what I’m doing, to finally be fulfilling the vocation God gave
me when he created me.
Even in the midst of this joyful busyness I know that I
need to rest. Indeed, all Christians
need to step back from the busyness of their activity for God and rest and
spend time with our Creator. Our Lord
Jesus himself needed to rest and spend time with his Heavenly Father. There are many examples given in the gospels
of Jesus withdrawing from activity, either to rest with his disciples or to be
alone with God. In Luke 9:10, for
example, we are told “When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what
they had done. Then he took them with
him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.” In Mark 1:35 we are told “very early in the
morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to
a solitary place, where he prayed.” In
John 6:15 we read that “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him
king by force, withdrew again to a
mountain by himself.”
If Jesus, God himself incarnate in man, needed to take a
break how much more do we need to rest from our labours for God and spend time
in his presence relaxing and recuperating. Such rest enables us to be more effective for our task of serving in the Kingdom, because it restores our energies and enthusiasm for the gospel.
If you are a busy Christian, and so many of us are, please remember to
take time out to rest and relax and time out to spend with the God who loves
and cares for us more than we will ever know!
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