“Our lives move at a relentless pace. We feel and live as though some taskmaster were at our back with a whip, driving us on to the next task. Many of us even feel guilty for pausing to rest. The frenetic pace of our life, if left unchecked, will gradually begin to dictate a new reality.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul)
“It is tough for us not to be or appear busy. If we slow down and do one thing at a time, the words that are likely to come to mind are negative. In English, almost all of the antonyms for busyness are things we are taught to avoid. These antonyms include lazy, indolent, inactive, idle, and lackadaisical. It also includes a bunch of words with "un" for a prefix: unoccupied, unengaged, and uninterested. None of these are words we would want a teacher or a boss writing about us in a letter of recommendation. They are the sorts of self-accusatory words that may emerge when we pursue only one work at a time rather than the seemingly more productive technique of multitasking. When we slow down and increase intentionality, we are likely to feel not busy enough.” (Rev. Christopher H. Martin)
“To the early Christian theologians, the cycles of the week seemed to symbolize the meaninglessness of earthly existence taken into itself. Like the legendary Greek image of the snake swallowing its own tail, the seven day week returns to itself, repeating its cycle. So the patristic tradition proposed "the eighth day", which broke open the cyclical chain of seven days. The seven day week represented the history of the created world; the eighth day symbolized eternity. Sunday, the day of the resurrection of Christ, was the first and the eighth day at the same time. Sunday is the day of the sun, the source of life, the first day of the week, and symbolically the first day of creation. It is also the eighth day, the day of the new creation, the day of resurrection, which initiated all creation to eternal life. The eighth day breaks the monotonous cycle of time and liberates time from bondage to boredom and death. There is no longer evening or morning to mark the bounds of the day, no sun or moon to determine the course of day or night. The eighth day, outside the weekly cycle, signals the end of the fatalistic resignation to despair built into the ever-repeating cycles of history. It implies rest from the cyclical chain of work.” (Rev. Dr K.M. George)
“In our modern culture, work (making money) has become the defining purpose of life. Leisure is thus a “day off,” a day of needed rest so that we can go back to work. The work defines even our rest. The truth, however, is the reverse. It is the feasting that gives meaning to all things. It is God’s holy day that gives every day its meaning. It is our resting in God that gives any moment of work its truth and its value.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“We need intervals of rest every day. Rest is an integral part of our daily rhythms. We shouldn’t balk at asking others to help us in our pursuit of much-needed rest…Once we discover what it takes for us to rest well and how we best rejuvenate, we can begin to find rest in the various circumstances in which we find ourselves.” (Marlena Graves)
“The Apostle Paul declares, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (vs. 16). This process of renewal continues unabated inside us, because we are united to Christ. Even in our worn and sinful hearts can undergo wonderful, renewing change. However, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We must stop looking “at the things which are seen, but [rather look steadily] at the things which are not seen” (2 Cor 4:18). Then our “light affliction, which is but for a moment” (vs. 17) may actually work to our secret advantage, achieving “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (vs. 17). This process by which “the inward man is being renewed day by day” (vs. 16) is the essence of our life in Christ.” Yes, we find that living in this spiritual manner requires a demanding balancing act. We are asked to trust God, even as we struggle with temptations and assaults from every side.” (Dynamis 8/10/2018)
“We are not leading a Christian life so long as we are careless in our spiritual life, so long as we do not distinguish good from evil and passively hand ourselves over to our desires and inclinations…We must see ourselves as being in need of renewal….Only when we become acutely aware of our inadequacy, condemn ourselves and seek renewal—only then do we begin Christian life.” (V. Rev. Sergius Chetverikov, Bishop Joseph)
“…there are only two possible paths for humanity as a whole and for each of us as individuals. We must choose the path of renewal or the path of decay.” (Joseph Pearce)
“...daily we give our hearts over to things that aren’t satisfying or renewing. Daily we make choices that draw us away from our deepest passions and desires. Each time we choose to not sit for our time of morning silence, each time we choose to numb ourselves on endless hours of television, each time we choose to withdraw from the ones we love most, each time we eat food that isn’t really nourishing to our body or to our senses—these are all ways we give ourselves over to that which doesn’t satisfy.” (Christine Valters Paintner)
“You have heard it said that Jesus Christ makes all things news. According to St. Paul “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is passed away, behold, the new has come,” (II Cor. Chapter 5 Vs. 18). Renewal is not simply making something appear as new...That is not renewal in the Christian sense. Renewal is to take something old and worn and weighted down by sin and corruptibility and by the exerting of the Divine Will to recreate it anew so that that which had made it old no longer exists in its character…the human being who is committed to Christ Who, by His Divine Will makes all things new, that creature becomes a new recreated person. That newness in Christ means the total expunging of all that was the old so that one may start again as a new person. Our record is washed clean. All of our sins are wiped away from the slate of our life and we are given a new start.” (Fr. James C. Meena)
"The fourth commandment, regardless of whether I dedicate Saturday or Sunday to the Lord, reminds me of an increasingly difficult discipline. And that is the discipline of finding the proper time (and place) for work and rest. It is increasingly difficult because of the 24/ 7 culture of the Internet, which has been called “a culture of disruption.” My schedule is easily disrupted by the constant and chaotic flow of information and communication, which is always “on,” as long as I am “connected” to everyone and everywhere online." (Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“In an age in which people obsessively shift back and forth from work to working at making recreation, we are in jeopardy of forgetting the value of unplanned leisure and spontaneous play.” (Vigen Guroian)
“I read somewhere that God made the day twenty four hours long—eight hours to work, eight hours to rest, and eight hours for family, house, relaxation, hobbies, exercise, and spirituality. We’ve tinkered with that formula so that now many people work more than eight hours, sleep much less than eight hours and family time, relaxation, exercise, hobbies, and spirituality are getting squeezed out. God also “commanded” us to remember the Sabbath, to have a day of rest, to worship and to be with our families. It is one of the Ten Commandments. Again, we have tinkered with that as well, which no doubt has contributed to the continued decline of the family unit, and increase in personal stress.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis)
“While I’ve started to learn how to rest in God, rest is a gift I continually need to learn how to receive. Whether due to life transitions or new trials and tribulations, I am still tempted to stay awake and active in order to manage life when I should be resting.” (Marlena Graves)
“…rest in grace. Frenzied activity only indicates a lack of confidence in God. Rest and be still.” (Father Barnabas Powell)
“Cloaked by overactivity, a typical day in the life of many of us is marked with avoidance and escape." (Phileena Heuertz)
“We live in an action-oriented world! There always seems to be something to do and no time to rest. Yet God demonstrated that rest is appropriate and right. If God Himself rested from His work, we should not be surprised that we also need rest. Jesus demonstrated this principle when He and His disciples left in a boat to get away from the crowds (see Mark 6:31-32). Our times of rest refresh us for times of service.” (Life Application Study Bible, Genesis 2:2-3)
"God is not against human effort. Hard work honors God (Proverbs 31:10-29). But working to the exclusion of rest or to the neglect of family may be a cover-up for an inability to trust God to provide for our needs. We all need adequate rest and times of spiritual refreshment. Be careful to maintain a balance: Work hard while trusting God, and also rest while trusting Him.” (Life Application Study Bible, Psalms 127:2)
"Your own heart, or our materialistic culture, or an exploitative organization, or all of the above, will be abusing you if you don’t have the ability to be disciplined in your practice of Sabbath. Sabbath is therefore a declaration of our freedom. It means you are not a slave—not to your culture’s expectations, your family’s hopes, your medical school’s demands, not even to your own insecurities. It is important that you learn to speak this truth to yourself with a note of triumph—otherwise you will feel guilty for taking time off, or you will be unable to truly unplug.” (Pastor Timothy Keller)
“…(Sabbath comes from the Hebrew verb"to cease”), it means we are to set apart that day to worship the Lord. God gave us this commandment and a principle designed for our own good. Setting aside one day a week to worship Him with others, and then spending that day with loved ones free from work is refreshing to our bodies, minds and souls.” (Sacramental Living)
“God is in the restoration business….The whole idea behind the Christian religion is restoration of the creation ideal. (In fact, the root meaning of the word religion is to reconnect—to religature or re-ligament.)” (Dynamis 11/19/2014, Thomas Williams)
“God promises in the Bible that Heaven and earth will be restored to what it should have been had not sin entered the picture, and true believers who have sought God with their mind, heart, body, soul and spirit will dwell with Him because that is what they have sought.” (Sacramental Living)
“…because Christ took on every aspect of humanity, we have firm ground for our hope that He will restore our nature in its entirety: body, soul, and spirit… God the Word became man so that men, by grace, could become what God is by nature… Christ is there to restore us when we turn back to Him sincerely” (Dynamis 12/18/2014, Sacramental Living)
"Every healing that comes from God fulfills a purpose greater than our immediate health: God wills to restore us that we might fully embrace and serve Him.” (Dynamis 7/5/2014)
“There are billions of people on earth, but only one you. When we talk about salvation, therefore, we must talk not only about the restoration of human nature, but also about the restoration of the human person.” (Clark Carlton)
“Just as He [Christ] was born to give His life for us, so, too we renew ourselves and are born in the Spirit. In so doing, we offer ourselves to God just as our Lord Jesus Christ offered Himself for us on the Cross…Repentance in any moment gives us the gift of renewal.” (Archbishop Joseph)
"We are not leading a Christian life so long as we are careless in our spiritual life, so long as we do not distinguish good from evil and passively hand ourselves over to our desires and inclinations…We must see ourselves as being in need of renewal….Only when we become acutely aware of our inadequacy, condemn ourselves and seek renewal—only then do we begin Christian life.” (V. Rev. Sergius Chetverikov, Bishop Joseph)
"It is possible to say that the outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. Such is the renewing process we call the Life in Christ. Yes, living in this spiritual manner is a demanding balancing-act, trusting God as we struggle with forces and temptations coming upon us from every side.” (Dynamis 8/17/2012)
“By receiving Jesus on a regular basis, we are restored to God's image and likeness, each piece of Christ's spiritual body replacing our own.” (Rev. Christopher H. Martin)
“You have heard it said that Jesus Christ makes all things news. According to St. Paul"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is passed away, behold, the new has come,” (II Cor. Chapter 5 Vs. 18). Renewal is not simply making something appear as new...That is not renewal in the Christian sense. Renewal is to take something old and worn and weighted down by sin and corruptibility and by the exerting of the Divine Will to recreate it anew so that that which had made it old no longer exists in its character…the human being who is committed to Christ Who, by His Divine Will makes all things new, that creature becomes a new recreated person. That newness in Christ means the total expunging of all that was the old so that one may start again as a new person. Our record is washed clean. All of our sins are wiped away from the slate of our life and we are given a new start.” (Fr. James C. Meena)
“…there will be trials here and God uses them to rouse us out of our stupor and get our attention back to Him. If we make the choice to accept this truth, then suffering can be something that begins to restores us to God.” (Father Patrick Henry Reardon)
“…Christ is there to restore us when we turn back to Him sincerely…we have the promise of restoration and new life to look forward too, no matter what happens to us in this life, if we choose God in our hearts.” (Sacramental Living)
“…Christ promises in the Bible: a restoration of all things at the end of time and the faithful dwelling with Him forever even though we go thorough trials and trouble here and now. I know this can seem like nothing more than words and be difficult to accept - especially if we’ve suffered through tragedy.” (Sacramental Living)
“God restores us to how we should be; and union with Him brings us peace and satisfies us in a way that absolutely nothing else can.” (LogosPilgrim)
“As we seek Christ and grow in Him, healing, or restoration of our condition from sin and its effects, is simply a natural consequence of this growth. The restoration Christ did in the Gospels to those He healed from sin and/or sickness is a glimpse of the final restoration God promises in the Bible when creation is restored as it should be to include our bodies, minds and souls.” (Sacramental Living)
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