Occasionally God seems to provide just what I need at just the right time. Sometimes that takes place with a sermon, perhaps a call from a friend, and occasionally even a book. In recent weeks as we approach the end of a large building project with our church, I have become ever more aware of my need for rest. On Monday night I got home after a long day and night of meetings. On the kitchen counter Angela had left a box that arrived earlier in the day from IVP that contained books they had sent me to consider reviewing. Of course I’m usually excited to find free books waiting for me at home, but I was even more excited when I opened the box and found The Radical Pursuit of Rest situated on the top of the stack.
I took it off the top of the stack and immediately began digesting its pages. I do not know anything about John Koessler, the author, or about his other books. But, the cover said enough to convince me that this book had not arrived at my doorstep by accident and I quickly discovered that it was a great read from cover to cover. It was just what I needed to remind me of the value, necessity, and privilege of resting in Christ.
What this book is not
The Radical Pursuit of Rest is not a how to book. Lest you be fooled into believing that you will walk away from this book with an eight step program to better rest, Koessler informs his reader in the introduction that though he will make suggestions along the way, this book does not prescribe a program.
What this book is
This book is an extended reflection on the reality of and need for God’s children (especially his church) to experience the rest of Christ.
The secret to rest is not in what we do so much as in how we see. Rest is both a location and an identity. It is a realm in which we exist. Rest is synonymous with grace, which is never seized by force but always taken hold of freely by faith. Rest is also synonymous with Christ, who is both its primary proponent and chief architect. The first step in the radical pursuit of rest os to seek Christ This is also the last step. When you find Christ, you will find rest.
This book is also well written. Just because a book offers good information does not always mean that it is an enjoyable read. Dr. Koessler is a good writer. He uses illustration well and really invites the reader into his life. After reading this short book, I feel as though I know the man and would love to share a cup of coffee with him.
Synopsis
Koessler introduces his book with a chapter that describes the struggle to find rest in a world filled with busyness. In it he offers a very stinging and helpful critique of the contemporary evangelical church with its emphasis on service and busyness. He moves to speak of the God who rests and all we have to learn from our Creator. In the third chapter, the author provides sound theology on sabbath rest and shows the emphasis that Christ placed on the concept of sabbath. Koessler argues that the primary purpose of the Sabbath is not the needed rest of man (though that is important), but the imperative for mankind to trust in the provision of God.
People can take time to rest because they can trust in the control of God. No manna was provided on the sabbath to show the Jews that God could be trusted and that his provision was of more importance than their work. Jesus’ command to not worry was rooted in his understanding of sabbath rest. God is in control. An inflated view of our importance and a depleted understanding of God’s sovereign control and care leads to worry and an inability and unwillingness to rest.
Rest, according to Koessler, however is not to be found in sloth or time wasting, it is found in Christ. Further, even worship should be a form of rest as we come to offer our praise to God, we rest in him, we are filled by the singing of his praises and the proclamation of his word.
Koessler intersperses this work with emphasis on the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude, pointing out that in our digital age especially, the constant ding of computers and buzz of phones interrupts the ability of people to fully disengage and rest.
He closes his book with a sobering look at aging and death and with the full and final hope that is found in the ultimate rest of eternity. A brief look at John’s Revelation shows that rest is not achieved, it is given. Christ gives rest, but Christ’s rest is ultimately not something we earn or even travel to experience, in the final end of things, the rest of Christ is brought down to earth for his people to experience.
Final Reflections
This book was a blessing to my soul. I needed to be reminded that I need rest–not just sleep, but real rest in Christ. The church also needs to hear Koessler’s critique of our busyness. Often we are so busy as Christ’s church because we value activity over inactivity and because we grow convinced that without our efforts, the church will not be successful. There is certainly a balance to walk and God has called his people to serve, but God has also called his people to rest in him and trust in his sovereign power to care for his church.
Koessler also does a great job of distinguishing between sloth and rest. Being lazy is not the same thing as resting in Christ. True rest us usually found only after we have worked and spent ourselves in the work for which Christ has created us.
I am a practical person, and I would have loved some practical steps. In fact, I hope to follow up with Dr. Koessler and get some of his practical steps to post on the blog later.
In the end I would urge you to read this book. Do it today. He has written a book that functions as a book on rest should. It caused me to think, ponder, pray, and even repent, but it did so in a fashion that did not require me to sweat. In other words, The Radical Pursuit of Rest is written in such a way that I felt rested after reading it.
In his acknowledgements, Koessler mentioned that he wrote this book after questioning whether he should continue to pursue his vocation as a writer. I am very thankful that his proposal was accepted and that he took this project on with passion and creativity.
Notable Quotes
- What the church needs is rest. But it is a special kind of rest. We need the rest that only Christ can provide. The rest of Christ is both a remedy and a relief. p. 22
- Like sleep, rest too can be unnerving. For those who value activism, rest seems unproductive. p. 36
- But if rest is a country, it is not our native country. Like the land promised to ancient Israel, it is ours only after we receive it from God as a gift and an inheritance. p. 41
- Like Israel we experience divine rest starting with relocation. We must be transferred out of the dominion of darkness, which is our natural domain, and into the kingdom of Christ. p. 41
- In the Law of Moses, the Sabbath was a concrete expression of GOd’s rule over his people. By it they experienced his provision for them. p. 58
- The truth is I am more comfortable working than I am praying. Work seems to garner quicker results. p. 69
- Sloth is to rest what junk food is to a nourishing meal. Despite its false promise of refreshment, sloth cannot restore us. It dissipates and leaves us spent. p. 75
- Very few of us are called to be famous for God. Most of us work at our jobs and serve in our churches in relative obscurity. p. 94
- True worship requires openness and receptiveness. Even when we are active in worship we receive from GOd. Those who say that God is the only one who matters in worship are wrong. Worship is for the church. p. 101
- Most of what passes for listening today is not listening at all. It is merely a pause between sentences. p. 122
- The future is not always an improvement on the present. p. 129
- Rest is not the absence of fear, it is the presence of trust. p. 133
