I was walking this morning along the Texas Gulf Coast—not on a beach, just along the coast. It’s not Malibu or Destin, but it’s also not Fort Worth! It’s away! And it’s not work.
I got this great deal on Travelzoo for a seaside resort in Rockport, Texas, near Corpus Christi, so we thought we’d steal a few days before a very busy season begins.
Sherrylee and I travel a lot, but we often joke that all we ever see is the airport, the road to the church building, and the missionary’s house. In just about three weeks we are hitting the road again for almost a month—so why do we think we need this four-day break? Rest!
Traveling for work sounds like great fun, but ask any of the road warriors that travel for a living–moving from bed to bed, food to food, wondering if your flight will be canceled by the weather—which would throw the rest of your schedule into turmoil! Different time zones—and you thought just going on Daylight Savings Time was bad! And all the time, doing your very best to accomplish the task that you are traveling for. Travel is grueling.
Jesus traveled quite a bit–not by plane but by foot. During his lifetime, and especially during his ministry, he walked the 95 miles between Nazareth and Jerusalem several times, and probably not the most direct route since the Jews usually avoided going through Samaria. He spent most of the three years of his ministry with “no place to lay his head.” Sometimes he was walking away from conflict, but often he was walking toward it. I don’t think Jesus would have described any of his travel as vacation time.
But Jesus did take time to rest. Mark 6 records his taking his disciples for a break from all the people-work they were involved in:
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
I do wonder, however, about people who only live from vacation to vacation! Is this year’s cruise or next year’s ski vacation what one lives for? Is life planned around fall break, Christmas break, spring break, and summer holidays?
Jesus talked more about work than rest: “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working” (John 5:17). “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4).
If Jesus came to Rockport, Texas, he would enjoy watching the sun set on the gulf waters. He might watch the cranes and loons swooping down to catch their supper. He would know why shops advertise mud minnows and sea lice! And he would probably eat at Hu-Dat, the oriental restaurant with a Cajun name!
But he wouldn’t stay long because he would begin thinking about getting back to work—the work that his Father sent him to do while it was still day.
Check-out time approaches! Better go.
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