This past week I ran across an interesting tale regarding Aesop of Aesop’s Fables fame. According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens was a man one day who noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. This man who was observing Aesop began to laugh and jeer at Aesop, asking him why he was wasting his time in what the man considered to be such frivolous activity. Aesop did not get angry but instead chose to respond by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. He then looked at the critical Athenian and said to him, “Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bow implies.” Incredulously, the man looked at the unstrung bow lying on the ground for several moments, but try as he may, he had no idea what point the renowned fabler Aesop was trying to make. Finally, Aesop explained the message behind the unstrung bow. “If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it.”
Just like the bow, people are also like that. That is why we all need to take time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. Tomorrow our nation will be honoring those men and women who labor in the work force by giving them an extra day off from their toils. Work is honorable and it is blessed by God, but our Heavenly Father also knows His people and His creation need rest in order to better serve Him as well as others. God told Moses in Exodus 31:15-17 [CEV], 15 Keep the Sabbath holy. You have six days to do your work, but the Sabbath is Mine, and it must remain a day of rest. If you work on the Sabbath, you will no longer be part of My people, and you will be put to death. 16 Every generation of Israelites must respect the Sabbath. 17 This day will always serve as a reminder, both to Me and to the Israelites, that I made the heavens and the Earth in six days, then on the seventh day I rested and relaxed. The Israelites were not the only ones God wanted to keep the Sabbath to rest from their labors. He also intended it for all those servants and animals living amongst the Israelites: “Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.” (Exodus 23:12 [CEV]) As I stated earlier, God also wanted His creation to relax and renew itself from its toil: 10 Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11 but let the land rest during the seventh year. The poor are to eat what they want from your fields, vineyards, and olive trees during that year, and when they have all they want from your fields, leave the rest for wild animals. (Exodus 23:10-11 [CEV])
So enjoy this day of rest the Lord has given you and your family!
Just like the bow, people are also like that. That is why we all need to take time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. Tomorrow our nation will be honoring those men and women who labor in the work force by giving them an extra day off from their toils. Work is honorable and it is blessed by God, but our Heavenly Father also knows His people and His creation need rest in order to better serve Him as well as others. God told Moses in Exodus 31:15-17 [CEV], 15 Keep the Sabbath holy. You have six days to do your work, but the Sabbath is Mine, and it must remain a day of rest. If you work on the Sabbath, you will no longer be part of My people, and you will be put to death. 16 Every generation of Israelites must respect the Sabbath. 17 This day will always serve as a reminder, both to Me and to the Israelites, that I made the heavens and the Earth in six days, then on the seventh day I rested and relaxed. The Israelites were not the only ones God wanted to keep the Sabbath to rest from their labors. He also intended it for all those servants and animals living amongst the Israelites: “Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.” (Exodus 23:12 [CEV]) As I stated earlier, God also wanted His creation to relax and renew itself from its toil: 10 Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11 but let the land rest during the seventh year. The poor are to eat what they want from your fields, vineyards, and olive trees during that year, and when they have all they want from your fields, leave the rest for wild animals. (Exodus 23:10-11 [CEV])
So enjoy this day of rest the Lord has given you and your family!
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