Vacation time
By TIM KLIEWER
Trinity Mennonite Church
Many of us are planning our vacation for this summer.
A seminary professor heard his pastor end the announcement time in church one mid-summer Sunday with the comment: "I am not going to take a vacation this summer; the devil never does!"
The professor went home and re-read the four Gospels to see what Jesus' attitude was toward rest and relaxation. He discovered that during the three-year period of Jesus' ministry, He withdrew for the purpose of rest 10 times. How about you? Do you follow the devil's example or the example of Jesus?
How do you spend your vacations? Do you come back from your time designed to give you rest and relaxation rested, or do you have to rest up after your vacation?
There is a beautiful legend about the Apostle John. The legend says that John had a tame partridge which he cherished much. He amused himself with feeding and tending it. A certain hunter, passing by with his bow and arrows, was astonished to see the great apostle, so venerable for his age and sanctity, engaged in such a frivolous activity. John responded to the hunter by asking him if he always kept his bow bent. He answered that if he kept it that way it would soon be permanently bent and quite useless.
"If you unbend your bow to prevent its being useless," replied John, "So do I unbend my mind for the same reason."
So, how do you spend your vacations? Is it a time when you rest and get closer to God, or is He left out of your plans? Do you take time during your vacation to pray, read your Bible and build your relationship with Him, or is your time so busy or so involved with activities that it will require repentance before you can feel close to God again? Shouldn't vacations be a time when we rest and grow closer to God?
