Eternal Rest

           Have you ever had those dreams where you feel like you are falling but you never hit the bottom? Someone once told me that if you hit the bottom, you are dead. I always have had the fear of falling from anything. Some people like the sensation of falling. There was a park in Chicago called “Riverview Park” where they had a number of amusement rides that would last a couple of minutes but throw you up and down and twist about for those few minutes. One such ride was the “Parachute Jump.” You sat in a harness and then were pulled upwards to the top of the structure where you cable was triggered and you would free fall until your chute opened up and you slid down at a comfortable speed. My Father mentioned a couple who went up to the top, the cable triggered and they dropped about ten feet and then were hung up and didn't move, suspended over the Chicago skyline. It took the fire department and a large ladder truck to get them down. I was never tempted to get on such a ride. I look for things like the caterpillar and the whip as they stayed on the ground. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

           I am not a person who looks for physical excitement but rather that which would give me rest. I would prefer a Merry-go-round to a Ferris wheel. At the end of the day, most people look forward to a period of “rest.” On the farm, we would call a short time out as a “rest break.” It was a short time to get the chaff off of the back of your neck and run some cool water over your arms or to just plain sit under the shade of the wagon for a minute. It was also that time at the end of the day when you could crawl into a warm bed and close your eyes for some “rest.” The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has the promise of eternal rest to those who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Everything that you have ever thought about rest is made evident in your eternal state in heaven. The contrast to that state can also be seen in the Scriptures as those who have not trusted in Christ will have no rest but will be in a place of torment for all eternity. It is hard to imagine what that state would be like since you will have no time to close your eyes for even a minute but will be thrust into utter darkness, alone and yet be in the eternal fires of hell itself. People would like to just forget about it and hope it doesn't exist, but that is not what the Word of God says. Yes, we like to think about the other side, that of heaven and eternal rest with God forever. The flip side of all of this is the destination of those who have not taken the offer of free salvation from God Himself. For many of them, they have not heard the message, the Gospel message of salvation that is available to all. Some have said that they wish they could stand at the gates of hell and shout out to the multitude that they are heading for eternal destruction and that they should turn and get on the right road for an eternal life with God Himself. The passage for today is a quote from Christ Himself that He can and will give eternal rest to those who will come to Him. It is the simplest of messages yet one that is not proclaimed to a lost and dying world. If it were not for the picture that my Father painted of a couple hanging from a tower in Chicago in an amusement park, I might have been tempted to go on that ride. Likewise, if it were not for the description of hell as given in the Bible many would be tempted to just go their own way. We who believe are headed for eternal rest and those that don't believe are headed for eternal destruction where the worm dieth not. Praise God for the promise of eternal rest. May we be diligent to share the message to everyone around us.