Margaritaville

Hebrews 4:10 For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his worls as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience


I just got back form the beach yesterday and found some true physical and spiritual rest that was well needed as life has been zooming lately. Have you ever really thought about your search and need for rest? Most people at the beach are hard at work trying to rest. The theme of "Margaritiville", by Jimmy Buffet kind of says it all:

Nibblin on sponge cake
Watchin the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strummin my six-string
On my front porch swing
Smell those shrimp they're beginnin to boil

Chorus:
Wastin away again in margaritaville
Searching for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know it's nobodys fault

This song, more than any other, sums up what most of us have chased after in our lives. The heartbeat of the song is to saturate yourself in a carefree, margarita -induced, no schedule, beach chill out. Why can so many people identify with that? The message of "carefree rest" is a message that we all desperately need to hear in our lives of smart phones and urinal advertisements. We all need a break. We all need rest. I know I do.

If you think deeply about work and rest, it is pretty complex. Not only do we work hard at our jobs, but there is an underlying work underneath the work. We work hard to prove to the world our identity as an executive, room mother, athlete, low-body fat health nut, leader, proud parent of the slugger or gymnast, and many other things. The work we do is taxing, but not nearly as taxing as the pressure to build your own identity which is the work underneath the work. When the identities we build come crashing down, our natural instinct is to either work twice as hard as before to rebuild them, or we just head to the beach and crank up Margaritiville. Even though Margaritiville may help you ignore reality for a while, it leaves you more tired than when you started. If you don't believe me just drive to the beach and watch families pack up on Saturdays. It isn't a pretty sight. Stress is thick.

Is there hope for us? How do we rest? The author of Hebrews sees a bright hope and offers up a suggestion and a warning. He shares with us that w all have an opportunity to find a truly deep rest in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. He says you are going to have to strive to get it as you follow Christ on some seemingly odd paths at times, but if you want a permanent rest in a perfect identity, then look to Christ. It is only when we rest in His work and identity that we really have any true rest. Any striving we do to construct any other identity outside the one he offers is guaranteed to wear us out.

So ask yourself, what am I trying to prove to the world? Who do I want people to see me as? Are you deep at work trying to be accepted because people have hurt you?

There is only one work, one person that is acceptable to God, Jesus. So next time you are worn out ask yourself," why?" If you look deep enough, you will find out you are hard at work trying to prove yourself to God and man. Breaking that wicked cycle is the reason Jesus came. "Seek him all who are weary and are heavy laden and he will give you rest."

And the warning Jesus gives? Avoiding his rest will leave you restless eternally.

What depth do Jesus' words on the cross, "it is finished", hold in your heart?