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Vacations, Recreation, and Creation
June 11, 2011

Summer is the time for vacations in the United States as school children are out of school for a good part of the summer. What one chooses to do on a vacation is personal and more and more, because of the economy, families are choosing to stay close to home. But whether one chooses to stay close to home or travel far, vacation is enjoyed because it s a time for recreation, in choosing those activities that bring us satisfaction. What most never consider is that the root of recreation is create, and this reminds me of the creation week. During the creation week, God worked each day up until the seventh day of the week and then he did something else. God rested on the seventh day.

Genesis 2:1-2
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Just like one must choose to work, one must also choose to rest. Resting is not an involuntary muscle reaction; it is the result of a conscious choice. In today's western society, we often do not consider this. Sadly, modern Christianity does not reflect or reinforce this point. To most, the Sabbath is done away and does not need to be observed. And the command to be observed is to rest from one's work. The command is in effect to have a one-day-in-seven mini-vacation. And to many in modern Christianity this is a burden. What does modern Christianity gain from this? Perhaps more tithes and donations as followers are able to work seven out of seven days. Modern Christianity has also gained a world that is increasingly disconnected from God, the Creator. The concept of rest, or recreation, was so important that it was clearly taught to rest, or recreate on the Sabbath.

Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

The concept of rest, or recreation, is also important in farming. When crop lands are harvested year after without rest or replenishment of nutrients, the quality of food and the size of the harvest diminishes. This is why in addition to the weekly Sabbath, a command is given to allow farm land a Sabbath rest, once every seven years.

Leviticus 25:4-5
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

And why is rest important to us today? It not only gives us the quiet reflective time that we all need to consider our lives and how to improve our lives, rest gives the Holy Spirit increased opportunities to work with us, as we are remade into new persons.

Galatians 6:15
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Ephesians 4:24
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Colossians 3:10-11
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

And as we are made into new persons, as God through the Holy Spirit recreates in us, we become more like Christ and less like our former selves. We may not get there in this life, but the ultimate rest, the final act of recreation remains for us:

Hebrews 4:9-11
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Vacations and rest are important, and until these come our way, we must work. And if we want to enter the final rest, the completion of our recreation, then we must work spiritually to arrive at this rest.

All verses are from the King James Version.
This site provided by Tom Laign. To all who may believe differently, I also extend peace and love.
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