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!”
Unlike any other time in human history, people are multi-tasking. Hyper-automation makes it possible to do many things at once: you can simultaneously wash clothes, cook dinner, and water your lawn; and all of this as you drive to work talking on the phone. But there is something no one can do. No one can do two opposite things at once. For example, you cannot SIT and WALK at the same time.
Paul employs this self-evident ‘common sense’ approach to sanctification: he says you cannot walk by the Spirit and carry out the desire of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). It is impossible to walk by the Spirit and sin. It quite simple: either you are Spirit-led or flesh-driven—but you cannot be both at the same time.
What then is the secret to being able to “walk by the Spirit?” Oddly, the answer is “sitting.” While it is physically impossible to sit and walk at the same time, it is imperative in the spiritual realm. What does it mean to sit, i.e., Paul says we are “seated with Christ” (Eph 2:6)? ‘Sitting’ is a position of rest. When Christ finished his work He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2). It is your position of power and authority in Christ (the best seat in the house!) that empowers your walk. Paradoxically, then, we must remain seated while we are walking.
Think of a man who is handicapped and is confined to his wheel chair. Even though he is ‘sitting,’ he is also moving (walking). In fact, unless he remains seated in his chair, he cannot go anywhere (his chair empowers him). He both sits and walks at once. And so it is in the spiritual realm, unless you learn how to SIT and WALK at the same time, you really can't get anywhere.
