Labor Day

     The Fall season has begun. Another Labor Day is behind us, so summer is officially over. I was thinking about the artificiality of it all. This appointed day marks the beginning of a new school year, yet the young people I know have been back in school for quite awhile now. Except colleges which won't start for two or three weeks yet. All the stores were open with all the sales people on their feet. In fact many had extended hours and extra sales people available, so no holiday for them. While I know there are some exceptions, I would venture to say the people who had the day off were those who really didn't need the day off.

      But it is good to have a day dedicated as a reminder of the dignity of labor. For too many people the idea has taken root that the best way to live is to not have to work. The more time we can spend in pleasure seeking and being entertained, the better. Yet work is necessary. Good honest work that brings out the sweat was appointed by God for our good. When humans chose to rebel against God and His way of life, He appointed hard work to help safeguard us from the works of the devil. Physical work is necessary for physical health, mental and moral health, and also our spiritual well being. In every contingency of our life here in this world of sin, our Heavenly Father shows His love by giving us principles of living that will help protect us from the Satan, the Destroyer.

      It is good though, to have a day off from time to time. God has appointed us a Sabbath, a day of rest, that comes every week on the seventh day of the week. But aside from the weekly Sabbath our loving Father has also ordered that, from time to time, we take time to get away from our daily work and find rest. However, God's method of rest and our sinful method of rest are very different. We need to look at God's plan for “holidays” to see how we should spend our “time off”.

      Seven different feasts were appointed by God to the Jews “beside the Sabbaths of the Lord” where they were to leave their ordinary work and find rest in God. The time off would be spent in seeking a closer walk with God by focusing on His goodness and helping those who are less fortunate. Jesus echoed this order when here on earth with the invitation: “Come unto Me all who labor and are burdened with care”.  His promise is that we will find rest for our souls. It is here that we are to find a real and lasting rest.

      Our problems come from within our sinful selves. We carry the burden of guilt and sin and over time it will crush us. That is Satan's plan.  He only seeks to destroy everything God has created, and that includes us.  When we take time off, we “take a break”, but then add to our burden, our stress, by spending the time in gluttony and self indulgence. We look for something to entertain and anesthetize our self.

      But God calls us to find true rest, pure rest, by remembering His goodness and mercy to us. We should go over the many ways He has shown His loving kindness and the blessings we are given every day. Jesus calls on us to find rest for our soul.  It is a soul hunger that we have and a soul healing that we need.  It is our spiritual nature that needs nurturing and feeding. We try to cure the cancer of our soul with a band-aid, when we need to come to the Great Physician and let Him cut in and remove the death that lives inside. Only in Jesus will we find the true rest that we want and need. Only in submission to His will, His way of living, will we find the rest and freedom that we were created to enjoy. Let's meditate on an example we are given as to how we might spend the next holiday we have. 

     "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading....Then he said to them:  go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet.  Send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared.  For this day is holy unto our Lord.  Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."  (Nehemiah 8:8,10)