Do you ever have those weeks? You know the ones–when Saturday comes and you could probably sleep until 3pm if left undisturbed. It’s just been brutal. When you have those weeks (and you may be having one of those weeks), why do you have them? Is it because you’ve been sitting at home doing nothing all week long? Not so much. Contrariwise, it’s because you’ve been out doing something—working, laboring, exercising.

Last week, I was sick (hence my lack of posts). I sat home Wednesday through Friday, and let me tell you, by Saturday, I was tired…but not really. You see, I was tired of sitting. I was tired of watching TV. I was tired of my couch. But I wasn’t tired because I’d been working. I longed to be that kind of tired. Instead, I was just tired of being lazy. I didn’t want my typical Saturday of rest, because I’d been lazy the entire week!

Now, let’s flip this around and ask ourselves this question: am I spiritually tired? When we say it like that, it almost sounds like a bad thing, but think of it this way:

“Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:13

In this passage, John is talking about heaven, a place of rest. The reason that heaven is described as a place of rest is because that’s supposed to be appealing. We should long to rest. But, as mentioned from my illness illustration, we won’t long for rest if we haven’t been working. We will only long for rest if we’re tired—if we’ve been working.

John says that our works follow us into Judgment. If we have been working diligently for the Lord as we have been called to do (Eph. 2:10), those works will follow us into an afterlife of rest. We will rest from our labors. On the other hand, if we have been lazy in this life, not going about fulfilling the commands of Christ to spread the gospel, care for the sick, worship our God, then what will the Judgment bring us? Surely it won’t bring rest–we’ve been doing that on earth!

It is time for Christians to awake out of slumber, and zealously pursue good works for the Kingdom. Our lives are not meant for vacations and rest and easy-peasy weeks. Our lives, once given over to Christ, are meant for His purpose. And we know that when Jesus was on the earth, He wasn’t lazing the days away. Instead, He was busy being about His Father’s business (Luke 2:49). Since we have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer our life that we’re living (Gal. 2:20), let us strive to do as He would–as zealously as He would–as many hours as He would. Let us not be content with Sunday mornings only, or even the meager four hours a week of Bible study and worship. Let us strive, daily, to be about our Father’s business. Let us weary ourselves on earth so that our good works follow us into Judgment. And let us strive, daily, so that heaven is that much sweeter–knowing it is a time when we can rest.

There are weeks when I’m exhausted spiritually, and then, sadly, there are weeks when I don’t need any rest at all. Those are the weeks that I need to work on. And that’s why this post comes on Saturday. Let’s all strive to start this next week off right: laboring tirelessly for the One who has promised us a heaven of rest!