Before Anything, Rest.

Today I tried to write something. I failed.

In all honestly, I probably bit off far, far more than I could chew. The post I had planned was a deeply thoughtful one for Christ & University, on the value of learning.

Essentially, I want to argue that although when we write and teach we tend to start with what we know and look for evidence to support it, it's equally important for believers to recognize how much we don't know, to see the limits of human knowledge. Only then will we be open to learning new ideas, to moving closer to the one who is Himself Truth. But I digress.

Besides the fact that the topic I've chosen is very, very difficult to write clearly about, I was tired. It's been a busy day: I had an orientation meeting at 8.00 AM, a local appointment at 8.40, a test to proctor at 10.30, students to advise from 12.00 to 2.00, a few random appointments till 3.00, and a grocery run on the way home. Not until 4.00 did I even sit down to lunch. How I thought I could tackle a weighty blog post after all that - on a Friday night, no less - is absolutely beyond me.

One of my friends takes Don't be stupid for her class policy (Can you tell she's done time as a middle school teacher?) It was stupid of me to try writing on Friday evening.

But here at the beginning of a new semester, my failed attempt is a good reminder: No good work is done without rest. Every day, as George MacDonald tells us, begins with sleep. 

Here's the thing: We tend to put off rest until we've accomplished something, as though we cannot rest unless we can point to something and say Look, I did that. At least, this is the way that I live. This is in part why I eat supper at 8.30 PM, because I like being able to relax after a long day with nothing to do hanging over my head, with all my accomplishments for the day behind me. This is why I wake early on Saturday to do work-related projects, then spend my weekends grading and lesson planning and researching. How can I enjoy my rest with all my work still before me? I can't. I don't rest until my work is done. I don't sleep until the day is finished.

But this is not what MacDonald says. He flips our mental model of the day on its head, puts not only getting up in the morning but even going to bed and falling asleep at the start of our day. This is where all the work we will do when the sun rises again begins: with going to bed the following evening.

The point is this: In the United States, we tend to imagine rest as something you earn by doing a lot of work. MacDonald suggests that we reimagine rest, not as something earned by work but something taken regardless of work, and something that makes work possible. Unless I rest, I cannot work. Rest is where all my work begins.

In this there is a spiritual lesson, a warning to guard against pride and lean hard on God. Surely our desire to claim rest as a reward for work stems from a kind of pride. To put off rest until we can say Look, see what I did! is to assign value to our days based on how much we did, rather than on what God has done in us. It is also to say that whatever we accomplish, we accomplish on our own, in our power, without divine aid.

But to rest first, or to rest in spite of what we have not accomplished, is to acknowledge that regardless of how productive we feel, it is in Christ that our value as human beings lies, and that whatever we accomplish is ultimately by the grace of God.

In this there is also a practical lesson, especially important as we kick off a new semester. Yes, the semester will be busy. Yes, there will be times when the students and I all need to put off rest to meet some of our responsibilities. But it must not be neglected altogether. Rest is the foundation to well-done, spiritually-meaningful work, and if we neglect it, then we neglect our work.

How we rest is up to the individual. Some people like to take an entire day every semester, like an Old Testament Sabbath. This is not something that would work for me, nor would it be particularly restful anyway. But that doesn't mean I can't take a mini-Sabbath, a few hours at a regular time every week to rest and pray and absolutely not work. This is only one way to rest.

The point is, We must rest, and rest in Christ. 

Every day begins with sleep. All our work begins with rest.