Rest for our Soul.
April 3, 2024
Take just a moment and see if you can guess where I took this photo.
I’ll give you some hints.
- It is a park.
- The park is larger than the nation of Monaco.
- It is the oldest public park in the United States.
- The park has 58 miles of pedestrian routes.
- The park is entirely artificial.[1]
You may have guessed by now that the photo was taken in Central Park in New York City.
Our family visited New York City back in 2009. It was pretty neat to be able to step off the busy, crowded streets into a setting so relaxing.
The same can be said for our lives. We can become so busy—running from task to task, making sure we are getting all of the things we consider important completed. I know even as a retiree; my weeks can get super busy. Don’t get me wrong, almost every single item on my to-do list is important to me. Many of them are important to other people, too.
Still, running from one thing to another can be draining.
One of the things I don’t do nearly as much as I want to do is reading. As you may have noticed in the picture, some of the people have taken a few moments to relax and read. Some by themselves, some with family or friends.
Rest for our Soul. #hope #joy #writingcommunity Share on X
I’m currently reading The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I’m not very far into it (Chapter 2 at this point), but I find it so relaxing to allow myself to take this journey with the main character, Christian. I enjoy seeing how Bunyan relates all of the characters and places to biblical principles.
For those who’ve read the book, feel free to let me know if I’ve got this wrong, but I’m predicting that Christian, who finds himself weary from carrying a backpack of burden, will eventually find that Jesus is the only one who can remove his burden. I know I’m prematurely guessing since my Kindle tells me I’m only 17% through the book, but I’m basing my prediction on what I know about Christianity and Jesus.
I’m already thinking, “What is going to happen in the remaining 83% of the book?”
If you have a backpack of burden, it may be that Jesus is the only one who can remove it from your shoulders. Look at what Jesus says in the book of Matthew.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NIV)
In the early church, the Jewish leaders had placed tremendous burdens on people to get right with God. The people labored tremendously to carry those burdens just so they could become acceptable. Jesus reveals that they need not rely on their own works to become righteous, but they only need to rely on Him. He tells them, “I will give you rest.” Like a park in the middle of a hectic city that provides a moment of rest for our weary bodies, Jesus provides what we need to have rest for our soul.
[1] https://www.experience-nyc.com/post/central-park-facts
It’s taken decades to really bask in the “rest” part (slow learner). Now I must, three times a day, which I resented at first, but spend time in prayer as soon as I lie down. Bunyan? I enjoyed a modernized version of it through Christian’s ups and downs.
Thank you, Joy. You are an inspiration.
I read Pilgrims Progress in Bible college Lit class. It was read to analyze only, and I did not enjoy the book in that way. We also read Dantes Inferno to analyze only. Dicecting books remove any joy for me in reading the story. I think I have both of those books in Audible so I will revisit both books by listening to them just to enjoy the stories for a change.
I hope you enjoy the Audible books.
Thank you for the post, Tim. Rest – the way God wants us to rest – is still something I’m learning.
Thank you, Joni.
I’m with you on that.
I definitely long for rest. A day at the park would be nice. Or a day to read. Sometimes, I’ve found that Jesus gives us snippets of rest… a few minutes here, a few minutes there.
He provides if we’re open to it.