Labor day

Well a cheap post might be lifting that old verse from the book of Hebrews, that God has ceased from His labors...and the person who has ceased from His own labors has entered into His rest.

Let me be more clear..scripture says that the person who has ceased from his own efforts has entered Gods rest. Scripture goes over that endlessly. So what are these efforts we are to cease from? Well according to Paul its our ceasless effort to establish our own identity and/or our own standing with God. Why are we all so touchy when someone accuses us of wrongdoing? Its because we all have this unwritten standard we compare ourselves and each other to. We all stand in judgement of ourselves and others according to this unwritten law.

Well God is semingly an anarchist and dangerous libertarian. He has simply abolished that unwritten standard that condemns us all and flatly accepted the human race..warts and all in Jesus Christ. Now this is admittedly a dangerous thing to do.

Anybody who just comes out and says the standards are over and out is labelled a heretic and dangerous. Lets name some of the the culprits; Paul and Luther pretty much head the list. Jesus said the same thing only more tongue in cheek. "Do you want to make a big deal about adultery (an admittedly sad event)? Ok since you want to live according to this standard..try this: if you lust in your heart your an adulterer!" Forget it..most of us who are  not in a vegetative state are eliminated. Yet we sadly still hold that law mirror up to ourselves and others hoping against hope we can win this losing game.

There is a reason they killed Jesus. They accused Him of sedition and it was. He turned the whole religious outlook on its head and introduced the void. Whats the void? Well if the law or unwritten standard is no longer operative..we are faced with our own God awful freedom to contend with. If we are no longer to be judged (or to judge) by this bitchin condemning law..and we are free men; what the hell do we do with this freedom. What does it mean to grow up.

Jesus has set us free. He has promised us that there is absolutely no condemnation now or never. Guess what? He does not tell us what to do with this freedom.

I'll be honest. Most of us don't want to grow up. We would rather pretend we are living sucessfully in this safe house of rules and regulations. We love to bitch with our friends about all the evil doers who don't live in the house of rules successfully. You know the ones; the gays, the aborters, the welfare cheaters, the lazy parents, the alcoholics, the dopers,. Thank God we don't live like them. If we just stay in our safe  house of rules and regulations and quickly punish or kick out the violators all is well..we are safe.

However the safe house is a house of cards.  We all secretly know, if we are honest, we probably are not upstanding members of the household ourselves. The older I get the more I see that behind all the fine houses in the neighborhoods I have lived in there is a lot of cracked furniture. There may be a fine SUV in the driveway but a dilapitated wreck in the garage. Is it alcoholism or depression or abuse or a suicidal brother inlaw or a financial mess behind closed doors? Whatever it is the most joyous thing in the world is to drop the standard and judgment because God has dropped the whole game himself.

We can come out of our houses and be ourselves because God has told us its safe. He won't judge us and He absolutely won't put up with us judging others!

So on labor day maybe we can take a chance and cease from our self justifying labors and enter into his rest. What does that look like? Maybe its stepping outside our safe house and meeting some of the other inhabitants of our neighborhood in the mutual grace in which we stand. Maybe its just this one time giving ourselves a break when we secretly want to condemn ourselves for a percieved failing. Maybe its doing the same for another. That's refreshing and a warm bath in this cruel world. Maybe its just the ability to take a break and relax for a second and inviting a weary one to relax with you.

You see we are all safe in this love of the lamb (what a word to describe our God!). It is safe..test it. Yes its like the ice in the spring..we step gingerly seeing if it will support our weight. I'll tell you it will every time. We can begin to breathe and maybe even enjoy and care about the others around us. We don't have to guard and protect ourselves and this gives us more space for the other travellers around us.

Happy labor day