“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:2-3).
When God completed His six days of creation, He rested from all His work. It is important to note that this is not just a statement about rest, it is also a statement about work. God establishes here that man, who is created in His image, is created for the purpose of serving God by means both of his work and his rest, specifically, that is, coming into His presence in worship.
The Pattern of Work and Rest
This pattern of life is established by God in the creation week. He worked six days and rested the seventh. The important thing to see here is the relationship between these two aspects. When God ended his work of creation, His rest gives an indication that the work done was good and unto God’s glory.
Most of you have had your pattern of life, I would say, somewhat disturbed in recent weeks. This is particularly true in the sense of both, again, work and rest. And I trust that by now most of you, are able to assemble again and worship God in public worship. But you might still be working at home, or perhaps working less, or even have lost your job and seeking to find some way to work. Hopefully, these changes will be short-lived for most of you, or you may need to readjust in some way. But it remains important to remember that God has given us a pattern for life which deals with both work and rest.
So as we all seek to return to some form of normalcy or a “new norm,” it might be a good time to be reminded about what Scripture says concerning both work and worship.
Please understand that the reference to God creating and resting in Genesis 2 is not just that after six days, God found that He needed to take some time off. Rather, His rest is related to the work completed. In fact, the rest says something about the work in that it was fulfilling and a blessing.
This is also a pattern, then, for Adam to follow. And it remains a pattern of life for us today. Prior to sin, Adam was given a task to do which was pleasant and fulfilling, and in addition to that task (to dress and keep the garden), he met with God in the most intimate, face-to-face way. The pattern is not only one in which every seventh day we should remember to worship God. Rather, what we do on the other six days is equally part of the pattern for life given to us who are created in God’s image as a work of service unto Him.
Worship is Rest
Now, in the New Testament, following the accomplished work of Christ, we begin the week by meeting with God in the most intimate way, and then, having been prepared, we serve Him in our labor. Part of that work is to struggle with the sin that is within ourselves and the sin that is in the world around us.
I really like what the Heidelberg Catechism says here when it addresses this issue. Commenting on the Fourth Commandment, we read in Heidelberg Catechism Q&A #103: “That all the days of my life I rest from my evil works.”
This is a struggle, it is a fight against the Devil, the world, and even our own sinful flesh. The Apostle Paul speaks of it as a wrestling match in Ephesians 6. So, as we are engaged in this spiritual struggle, seeking to work for the kingdom of Christ, we get tired. The manner in which we get tired is not simply physical but also spiritual. We, in fact, look for spiritual strength. Thus, we look with anticipation to the Lord’s Day by which we are renewed spiritually by means of a face-to-face meeting with God in worship. Being fed spiritually, we are then ready to take up the struggle once again in our work.
You begin to see a pattern of life in which your relationship with God prepares you to serve God in your vocation, your life of labor. The work that you do unto the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ leads you to seek spiritual rejuvenation from God.
Work is Worship
This pattern also leads us to understand that our work is in fact worth something. Work is pleasing unto God and is to be seen as service unto Him. In this connection, we can again learn from a reformed confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, as it comments on the Eighth Commandment. We find in Q&A #111, that the purpose for labor is not only to provide for ourselves and our families, but also to care for those who are truly poor. By your faithful labor, God has provided for a means that the needs of the poor would be met.
There has been a great influence in Christianity to basically segregate life into “spiritual” and “the rest of life.” Spend time with God in reading Scripture and prayer are put into one category called “spiritual.” But the rest of life is somehow seen as being basically “neutral.”
In reality, Genesis 2 (reflecting upon God’s work and rest) shows that the totality of life is to be lived before God the Creator in service. With the re-creating work of Christ, we are again able, at least in a beginning way, to serve God in work and rest, by means of this pattern.
The really neat implication about this is that worship gives meaning and purpose to work. And on the other hand, work enhances the meaning and purpose of worship.
When you understand that your work, your vocation, is not just for the sake of work, but rather a service unto God, then your worship will be more meaningful. And the more that you understand that your worship is meaningful as an intimate face-to-face meeting with God, the more your work will be fulfilling and satisfying.
About the Author
Dr. Maynard Koerner is President of Heidelberg Theological Seminary in Sioux Falls, SD and also serves as Associate Pastor of Trinity RCUS. He has served as President of the South Central Classis and the Northern Plains Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS). From 1997 until 2018, he was a delegate from the RCUS to the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC). In addition, he has been a member of the board of Trustees of the Sutton Christian School in Sutton, Nebraska; Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa; and New Geneva Seminary, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Acknowledgements
Featured image photo by Heather Mount on Unsplash