Rest according to Revelation - Rest #6

This is the second to last of our brief looks at rest in the Bible. Our last post on rest will discuss some practical tips for rest in today's culture. Be on the lookout for it.

Revelation 14:13 says, "Then I heard a voice from heaven say, 'Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' 'Yes,' says the Spirit, 'they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.'

Do you think about this rest very often? This is the full and final rest to which we ought to always have a keen eye. One day we will rest from all of our earthly labors. The trials we experience here for the sake of Christ will be no more. The battles we engage in to put to death sin in our lives will be over. The sufferings of living life in a sin-cursed world will be done away with. Our race towards purity and holiness will be complete. Faith (believing and acting upon what God says) will be unnecessary, because we will see God. Those who patiently endure this life, obey the commandments of God, and remain faithful to Jesus (now and in the time of tribulation to come) as verse 12 indicates, will rest from "their labor." What a day to look forward to!

Two themes emerge here:
1) We must do battle to remain devoted to Christ. We must continually guard our hearts against lesser lovers or "gods." We cannot allow other things, people, or desires to serve as our functional gods. What other "gods" might we have? Take a few minutes to examine things like: where you spend your money, where your thoughts drift in your free time, or what you have to have or you stress out. Also ask yourself: "Is my love for Christ, His Word, His Church, and my unsaved friends growing?" Asking these questions regularly (and having others around us ask these questions of us regularly), can help us to remain devoted to Christ.
2) We should look forward to rewards after death. Remain devoted to Christ because He promises great rewards for those who do. True rest is an unparalleled reward. Pleasures in this life are great, but they are just a hint of the pleasures to be experienced in heaven. To remain devoted to Christ is not a vain pursuit. 1 Cor 15:58 says, "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." Let's re-evaluate where we devote our time in this life, and prioritize our efforts around a quest that is not vain but in fact leads to the sweet reward of rest with God. One commentator said, "Death is not the end, but a transition from the temporal to what is final."

Do you look forward to this rest? Does this coming rest affect your everyday life?
- Does this rest affect the effort you put in at work or school? Work hard now, rest is the reward!
- Does this coming rest affect the energy you put into fighting you battle with pornography? True blessedness comes to those who devote themselves to Christ - the pleasures of pornography don't even begin to compare to this coming blessedness! By the grace of God, go to war with your desires that seem uncontrollable. Wage war now and rest later.
- Does this coming rest impact your efforts to parent your young children? It should! You're tired now (understandably so!), but true rest is promised to those who are devoted to Christ. Look for that rest, labor hard in this life, look for the reward to come! Bring up your children and teach them (by example and word) that true rest is not found in this life. True rest comes to those who, trusting in Christ's finished work on the cross, treasure Christ above all else. Don't just look for a nap in the afternoon, look for the true rest that can only come through Christ!