The Bread of Anxious Toil - March 28, 2011

Good Monday morning! Okay, the finals are in, I actually picked one of the final four teams correctly in my bracket. While that may be a personal best, that also means that I missed the other three. Of course now that a number 11 seed has made it to the final four, I'm rooting for the underdog: Go VCU! What underdogs are you rooting for today? How about you and me? We can root for each other. In this world we are that low seed that shouldn't win the tournament. If life had a bracket, we would lose the play-in matches. If life had tournament seedings to rank us we would be seeded dead last. Does it seem like that in all cases right now? Perhaps not, but in Revelation we can read about a coming time when the Man of Lawlessness or the Antichrist will have the ability to overcome God's own people. Does that sound like a dark, Monday kind of message or what? Today, that time has not yet begun. We have the Good News of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We have the wonderful teaching of the Holy Spirit to remind us of God's love. We have an advocate who presents our prayers to the Father. We have our brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage each other. We also have the promises of God the Father to take care of our daily needs. God the Father sent His own Son to save us from the penalty of sin. We are beloved creations of an almighty God, and not freak accidents of a random chain called evolution. Whatever tomorrow may bring, we know that God is sovereign. Work can be tough. You may not like where you must go this morning for your work. You may even wish that Jesus would return and call us home at 0759 this morning, just in the nick of time so to speak. You might even be wondering why we can't work two days of the week and have a five day weekend. I have some bad news for you... The Bible does say to honor the Sabbath, and that six days we shalt labor. However, the Bible does not demand a 14-hour workday, or that all six days of labor must be spent with an employer. No doubt there are employers who would like to read it that way, but I'm sure there are plenty of labor tasks to do around your home on Saturday, and maybe Friday as well. You may have felt the tug and temptation of listing among your accomplishments the six long days of labor for an employer. I once boasted of working an 80-something hour week as a good thing, an accomplishment of merit as I thought it. If we were to stand in the judgment hall of God right now, more than likely a common defense would go something like: "Your Honor, I worked hard all my life, putting in six-day weeks of 12 or more hours each day. I'm a good person!" Others might claim that they showed great love by sacrificing their life on the altar of work. In the Psalms we have a verse that might shed a little light on the issue. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (127:2) When I read this verse a few days ago, it really struck me. For years, I ate that bread of anxious toil. That bread is what causes so many of our mental and physical health issues today. I chatted with a Christian friend this weekend on this same thing and I feel compelled to share again with you today. Jesus told us in John's gospel that he is the bread of life. We seem to have that confused in our modern times. The person in the world today eats the bread of anxious toil and calls it success. As I look at a picture or our little town on my desktop this morning, I wonder how many are even now going in to work on this Monday morning, and they are already weary. One day, perhaps less, of rest can in no way prepare them for another long week of anxious toil. When did the so-called "rat race" become a good thing? Jesus tells us that we are to come to Him, and he will give us rest. This is not the rest of the grave that so many proudly claim will be the end to their wheeling and dealing, but actual rest from that treadmill of anxious toil. Perhaps the modern illnesses we call anxiety and depression should be known as "Eating the Bread of Anxious Toil" The only cure is to come to Jesus for rest. Have a wonderful Monday! Bucky