This past week I preached in our church on the importance of rest. I shared how the concept of rest flows thematically through Scripture, from God's modeling physical rest for us in Genesis 2 after creation through Christ offering spiritual rest to us in Matthew 11:28. Sometimes the preacher needs to pay attention to his own message. We have been far too busy as a family in the last two months and scarcely have had a chance to rest. We justify the busyness (or at least I do) by reminding ourselves that it is for God's kingdom purposes. That's good busyness, right? But we need rest. Truth is, most people in Tokyo do. This culture is a 7-11 24/7 365days a year, non-stop culture. People are worn down and worn out. It's obvious just by doing a little people watching. And our church people are equally overstressed and overworked. The biggest obstacle to church planting in Japan (in my humble opinion, at least), is that the hectic lifestyle gives no room for one to consider spiritual things, much less be part of a church community in a consistent way.
Well, I digress. What I really wanted to say is that we finally took 3 days off as a family and went down south to the Mt. Fuji area. The fall colors were wonderful, as was the time together as family. Enjoying our connection with God, with his creation, and with each other. The same components of rest that man experienced in Eden. It's good to take time aside to taste a bit of Eden again!
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