THINK TOGETHER
Why is work important? Why is rest important? What would happen to you if you never rested?
READ TOGETHER
Do you ever get tired? I do. And when I get tired I like to take a rest. Do you like to rest? Do you like to go to bed? Or do you try to stay awake as long as you can?
Did you know that even God rests? Listen to what the Bible says happened after God finished creating everything in six days:
Genesis 2:2-3. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
Rest is very important. It’s so important that God himself rested. Do you think God rested because he was tired?
No. God didn’t rest because he was tired – God never gets tired. Our verse says that God rested because his work was finished. God stopped working because everything he had made was GOOD. It was complete. It was enough. No more animals were needed. No more plants were necessary. No stars or planets were still missing in the sky. The water and air around us is just the right amount. And Adam and Eve had everything they needed to live and be happy.
Do you remember what God told Adam and Eve to do in the garden? He told them to “work it and keep it” – take care of it and protect it. But Adam and Eve didn’t work in the garden to make it better and better – it was already good. They simply worked to enjoy it and share it. And they didn’t work hard to make God love them more and more – he already loved them perfectly. So they worked to simply show God that they loved him.
When Jesus came to earth to save us he said, “Come to me and you will find rest.”
Jesus came to earth to finish God’s work of salvation. That meant obeying God perfectly for us. Everything he did was GOOD.
Much of what you are asked to do in life as you grow up will be judged and graded. You will be asked to perform for people and be “better” – in school, in sports, in music. But because of Jesus we don’t have to perform for God. We don’t have to show him how great we are. When we work hard at school, or at home, or in sports, or in music, we can do it, not to show how awesome we are, but to show how awesome HE is. Not to earn God’s love, but because we know that he already loves us.
Because of Jesus we can rest instead of having to be the best.
With Jesus we can do our best because God loves us no matter what.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Plan a day of rest together as a family. A day without work. A day of just enjoying God and his creation. A day of play. Talk about how we don’t have to perform for God anymore because of Jesus. What will your day of rest look like?
PRAY TOGETHER
Jesus,
Thank you for finishing all God’s work for us. Thank you for obeying perfectly for me. Help me to rest in my heart, knowing that you love me no matter what.
Amen.
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