Are You Tired?
I love how the hobbits fondly remember the shire throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They are always looking at 
each other, reminiscing about how they miss the shire and they can't wait to get back. For Frodo, Sam, Pip, and the rest of the hobbits, the shire is a picture of the way things are supposed to be.
Genesis 1 and 2 give us a picture of man and woman in paradise. It's a picture of the way things were supposed to be. Chapter 2 ends with these words "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." That nakedness meant they were completely exposed. Everything about them was exposed, down to the deepest recesses of their hearts, and yet there was no guilt or shame. There was a complete resting with who they were.
We quickly find in chapter 3 that sin enters the world through Adam's disobedience and that rest is lost. I've been doing campus ministry at Millsaps for 3 years now and have loved it. One thing I have noticed through the years is that Millsaps, much like most other universities and colleges I'm sure, is a very tired campus. Not so much physical weariness, though there is plenty to go around, but a deep weariness. A weariness that goes all the way back to Genesis 3. It's a weariness that comes from trying to convince the world, God, and ourselves that we are ok, that we are not ashamed.
We do it in 100's of different ways, but from the time we wake up until the time we hit our pillows at night we are trying to prove our worth to the world. As a result, making a "C" in a class is crippling, we act one way around one group of people and completely different around another group, we immediately defend ourselves at any notion of criticism, or some of us just go to every religious activity. Why do we do these things? I think many times we are trying to cover our nakedness, to cover our guilt and shame that we know is there. Because if we can just convince others that we are ok by giving them a projection of ourselves, then just maybe we will be ok.
We need what Eric Liddell so famously found in Chariots of Fire. Pastor Tim Keller was helpful in bringing these two truths together for me. If you remember from the move, there are 2 main characters. Both are runners and both are driven. When Harold Abrams is asked why he runs, he responds with: "I am running the 100 yard dash because when that gun goes off I have 10 seconds to justify my existence." Abrams runs to prove his worth to himself and others. And the film producers do a great job of cinematically displaying the weariness that comes from this motivation. Eric Liddell, on the other hand, is asked generally the same question but responds differently. "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
Think about it, there are two people doing the same activity. However, Abrams is always working even when he is resting. Yet, Liddell is resting even when he is running. What is the rest that Eric found? He found his worth and acceptance in the only eyes that mattered.
Eric knew a Savior that went to the cross. And on that cross, Jesus was stripped naked. He was the only man since Adam that could be naked and unashamed due to his perfect life. However, he was forsaken on the cross, not accepted. Then, as his life is expiring, he cries out, "It is finished." Why did Jesus say, "It is finished?" It's the same reason Jesus could look at people and say, "Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
Only when you admit the shame of your nakedness and see the God of this universe stripped for you, so that you could be clothed in His perfect righteousness will you find rest. Only in Jesus will there be nothing for you to prove to others. You will find acceptance and pleasure in the only eyes that matter. That acceptance which comes from the finished work of Jesus brings true rest. Are you tired?
each other, reminiscing about how they miss the shire and they can't wait to get back. For Frodo, Sam, Pip, and the rest of the hobbits, the shire is a picture of the way things are supposed to be. Genesis 1 and 2 give us a picture of man and woman in paradise. It's a picture of the way things were supposed to be. Chapter 2 ends with these words "And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." That nakedness meant they were completely exposed. Everything about them was exposed, down to the deepest recesses of their hearts, and yet there was no guilt or shame. There was a complete resting with who they were.
We quickly find in chapter 3 that sin enters the world through Adam's disobedience and that rest is lost. I've been doing campus ministry at Millsaps for 3 years now and have loved it. One thing I have noticed through the years is that Millsaps, much like most other universities and colleges I'm sure, is a very tired campus. Not so much physical weariness, though there is plenty to go around, but a deep weariness. A weariness that goes all the way back to Genesis 3. It's a weariness that comes from trying to convince the world, God, and ourselves that we are ok, that we are not ashamed.
We do it in 100's of different ways, but from the time we wake up until the time we hit our pillows at night we are trying to prove our worth to the world. As a result, making a "C" in a class is crippling, we act one way around one group of people and completely different around another group, we immediately defend ourselves at any notion of criticism, or some of us just go to every religious activity. Why do we do these things? I think many times we are trying to cover our nakedness, to cover our guilt and shame that we know is there. Because if we can just convince others that we are ok by giving them a projection of ourselves, then just maybe we will be ok.
We need what Eric Liddell so famously found in Chariots of Fire. Pastor Tim Keller was helpful in bringing these two truths together for me. If you remember from the move, there are 2 main characters. Both are runners and both are driven. When Harold Abrams is asked why he runs, he responds with: "I am running the 100 yard dash because when that gun goes off I have 10 seconds to justify my existence." Abrams runs to prove his worth to himself and others. And the film producers do a great job of cinematically displaying the weariness that comes from this motivation. Eric Liddell, on the other hand, is asked generally the same question but responds differently. "God made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
Think about it, there are two people doing the same activity. However, Abrams is always working even when he is resting. Yet, Liddell is resting even when he is running. What is the rest that Eric found? He found his worth and acceptance in the only eyes that mattered.
Eric knew a Savior that went to the cross. And on that cross, Jesus was stripped naked. He was the only man since Adam that could be naked and unashamed due to his perfect life. However, he was forsaken on the cross, not accepted. Then, as his life is expiring, he cries out, "It is finished." Why did Jesus say, "It is finished?" It's the same reason Jesus could look at people and say, "Come to me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest."
Only when you admit the shame of your nakedness and see the God of this universe stripped for you, so that you could be clothed in His perfect righteousness will you find rest. Only in Jesus will there be nothing for you to prove to others. You will find acceptance and pleasure in the only eyes that matter. That acceptance which comes from the finished work of Jesus brings true rest. Are you tired?