When a person dies, we say he has entered his “final rest.” But there is another death that leads to rest: being “dead to self and alive to God” (Rom.
6:11).
Unfortunately, many believers have not understood this
“dying to live” principle. It is very simple: we are legally dead to sin, but as
we live in this world, we must die experientially. And as we do,
He gives us rest (Matt. 11:28). But for
those yet alive to self, in its various hyphenated derivatives, i.e.,
self-importance, self-defense, self-promotion, ‘rest’ remains elusive.
Today as you commemorate Easter morning, don't forget that after Jesus arose, “He sat down at the right hand of God,” a posture of rest: His work was done (Eph. 1:20; Heb. 12:3). And now we, having risen with Christ, are “seated in the heavenlies” with Him, entering His rest (Eph. 2:6; Heb. 4:11). But since this capacity for resting is something we grow into, I can just imagine that whenever we start to feel the restless pull of life on earth, Jesus is saying, “Please come up here and take your seat”?
One of the sweetest stories in the Gospels has to be when Jesus visited
the home of Mary and Martha. While Martha had her ‘feet on the ground’—she was
sensible and practical, Mary had her feet up, relatively speaking! While Martha
fixated on festal foods, Mary yearned for finer fare at the feet of Jesus.
“Sitting at one’s feet” is a timeless idiom, meaning “pay worshipful
attention to.” And while Mary was setting her mind on Jesus, a mortally-minded
Martha was being held hostage to the familiar. This was Mary’s
“break-out” moment—not to do great feats, but to love His.
“Falling at one’s feet” is another timeless idiom, with
similar meaning. The Gospel writers record a number of times people fell at His
feet and worshipped Him. I wonder how much more they would have done so, if they
had known His feet would one day be nailed to a Cross for them. How different
was their unrestrained expression from our Sunday morning church-goers sitting
at the foot of a stage sipping coffee and eating doughnuts.
In our new neighborhood, we have neighbors who sit on their front
porches all day. From that vantage, they see everything that
happens around them. Did it ever occur to you that God has a front
porch!
When we were born again, we were 'seated in Christ.' Now, we have a
“standing” invitation to “sit” with Him on the front porch of the Universe, seeing as He sees—His perspective. As long as we remain inside our
private places, we only see what ‘we’ see. But on God's front porch, we see it all.
How often do we pray, “Lord, please help me to see what you are doing
in my world and to see what you are doing in my life.” Can't you just hear God saying, “I will be glad to show you what I see and what I
am doing. Come join me on the front porch!”
Has there ever been a time in history when people sat more? Sitting disease is rampant in the U.S.; it is killing us. The colloquial term sounds cute enough: couch potato. But there’s nothing cute about chronic health problems, or premature death, brought on by excessive sitting. Government statistics tell us that half of Americans report sitting more than 6 hours a day. People who sit more than 11 hours a day have a 40 percent higher risk for chronic diseases than non-sitters. But the good news is that even sitters who exercise at least 5 hours per week are as healthy as non-sitters.
So what’s my point? In all his letters, one of Paul’s favorite metaphors for Christian living is the word “walk.” Of course the prime meaning of “walk” is motion. So why do so many Christians think if they are sitting in a pew (or cushioned chair) in a Sunday morning service they are making progress. I know that pastors try hard to promote active participation among the sitters. In our sedentary culture, it would be all too easy to produce a generation of “sitters” instead of “walkers.” Perhaps this explains why we are seeing so many spiritual health troubles—lack of appetite for the Word, powerless prayer life, spiritual depression, and joyless living, to name a few.
Think of this. If we are ‘following’ Jesus, we ought to be moving! A 'sitting follower' is an oxymoron! “Whoever claims to abide in Jesus must walk as He did” (1 John 2:6).
Throughout my travels in Africa and Asia, I was an invited guest in many homes. And whenever I arrived at the home of my host, he stood up to greet me. This seems to be a universal courtesy—the only exception being that an elderly or highly regarded individual might remain seated.
When Jesus ascended to heaven, the Scriptures declare that He was "seated on the right hand of the throne of God” (Mark 16:19; Heb 1:3). Today, Jesus is still seated. But wait! While being stoned to death, Stephan looked up and saw Jesus STANDING on the right hand of God (Acts 7:55). And to the church at Laodicea, Jesus spoke “I STAND at the door, and knock” (Rev 3:20).
So which is it? Is Jesus SITTING or STANDING? And why should it matter to us?
SITTING is a position of rest—and you don’t rest until you’ve finished your work. (God rested on the 7th day after finishing His work.) Jesus is sitting because His work is done. That is important to us.
STANDING is a waiting and working posture. While Jesus’ work of salvation is done, as long as you and I remain in this world, His work in us and through us continues: we are not finished. Think about it: though the King of the Universe is seated on His throne, He chooses to stand with us, doing His work with you, for you, through you, and in you, so you can STAND firm in your faith (1 Cor. 16:13). It is very important for us to remember that we do not stand alone.
