A Powerful Rest
"One of the most universally recognized pieces of music of all times is Beethoven's 5th Symphony. You know the one: dun dun dun dunnnnn...dun dun dun dunnnnnn. You know the song, but what you may not know is that the song starts with an 8th note of rest. A song that begins with a rest! As strange as that is, it creates a uniquely powerful melody.
The strategic 8th note rest continues through the entire song."
A rest is a highly unusual way to begin a piece of music. But realize that the Christian life also begins with a rest. Before God can make a beautiful symphony of our lives, we must first find complete rest in His Son.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
Illustration Exchange
Looking For Loopholes
“Before the start of the Persian gulf war,” reports Shepherd, Kohut and Sweet, “Israel’s Chief Rabbi Mordechi Eliyahu ruled that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men could break Jewish law forbidding men from shaving in case of an Iraqi chemical attack so gas masks could fit properly over their beards. Eliyahu urged bearded men to carry scissors in their pocket in case they needed to shave quickly.” They continued, that “although Jewish law regarding the Sabbath forbids even simple physical activities, such as turning on the radio, the threat of Iraqi missile attacks . . . sent Israel’s chief rabbis scrambling to the Scriptures for a loophole so Orthodox Jews could listen to the news for warnings. The rabbis ruled that leaving the radio on during the Sabbath was permissible— provided it was on low volume."
“If there is a real alarm, you can turn up the volume, explained Religious Affairs Minister Avner Shaki, “but in a nonconventional manner, with a stick or with your elbow. Controlling the volume in a different manner still marks the Sabbath as different from the rest of the week.”
This story begs the question, why would God give Israel Sabbath laws that make her vulnerable to the threat of attack? The answer is that these laws were never intended to operate outside the divine protection promised in the Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 28-30). According to this contract, as long as Israel walked in faith and obedience, she need not fear her enemies.
How about you? How are you doing with the faith part of the journey of faith? Do you believe that God will take care of you so long as you obey and trust in HIm? Or, do you, out of fear and uncertainty, search for loopholes?
For example, when Jesus asks you to offer your enemy the "other" cheek, is that what you do? Or, do you look for a loophole that allows you to take matters into your own hands?
Rather than search for loopholes, we would all do better to search our hearts and make sure we are walking by faith.
"But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39).
It's The Stillness That Lasts
The "daguerreotype" was one of the earliest types of “still” photography.
A daguerreotype is created using a copper plate with a highly polished silver surface, which has been sensitised to light (by treating it with iodine fumes). The plate is exposed in a camera and the image developed using mercury vapour. The process produced sharp results that were a mirror image of the subject. It became the first commercial photographic process and was used in countries around the world for the next 20 years.
The image below, taken in 1838, is believed to be the first photograph of a person.
This daguerreotype, made by Daguerre himself, is of a busy road in Paris. Due to the long exposure time needed, anything moving in that time, such as people or vehicles were not in one place long enough to make an impression. The man in the lower left-hand corner was captured because he was standing still while he had his shoes shined.
There is no doubt the streets of Paris would have been bustling with all manner of activities that lovely, clear day. People running errands in and out of shops, horses and carriages carrying businessmen and tourists all about, children, and perhaps even stray dogs, frolicking in the parks and on the sidewalks. Yet the streets look all but deserted, save for the lone gentleman who stopped, standing quite still, to have his shoes shined.
Now consider Jesus’ lesson about the stewardship and ministries of his two, beloved female disciples, Mary and Martha.
But what do the ministries of Mary and Martha have to do with still photography, you might ask?
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!'
'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered, 'you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.' -- Luke 10:38-42
While Martha busied herself with “many things,” Mary simply sat at Jesus' feet.
Martha was quite confident that her frantic energy and labor for the Lord’s sake was all that mattered. So she must have been taken aback to hear the Lord’s loving rebuke: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Wait, what?! Isn’t “serving” the Lord (and others) what it’s all about?
Not according to the Lord Himself.
Absent the rest and devotion of just sitting at His feet, all our efforts and labors for Him and His kingdom are just fleeting activities.
Busy-ness of life is just that … busy-ness ... which is quickly forgotten, lost in the long exposure.
Like the images on a daguerrotype, it’s those moments when we just stop and be still before God that will last, making an eternal impression.
"Be still and know that I Am God" (Psalms 46:10).