An Invitation to Rest (Funeral for Jeff Preston)

Introduction

As all of us can attest to, we live in a fallen and troubled world. And this world can be tough on people. King David, the writer of the Psalm we just heard, was a man who was well aquainted hardships in his life. This is why he could write so knowledgably about walking in the valley of the shadow of death, or of needing his soul to be restored.

The Bible doesnt gloss over or hide the fact that in this world we will experience pain, loss, and hardship. Though there is so much in life to be enjoyed and celebrated, these hard things are also a part of our reality, living in a fallen world.

This is why it is so wonderful God gives us good gifts around us that can give us release, and moments of rest, and times of refreshment and joy.

Jeff

From what some of Jeff’s loved ones have told me, Jeff was quite gifted artisticly. He liked to express this artistic side through creating tattoos, writing poetry, and drawing. As his mother told me, “He could draw anything.”

These were not just talents but they also served as a way that Jeff could find solace and peace, when he was troubled and weary. For this reason he also enjoyed gardening, and was gifted at making things grow. Though the world could weigh heavy in Jeff’s heart, these were some of the activites that he enjoyed and through which he could find peace.

Rest in Christ

Finding rest and peace in temporal things can give us moments of relief from the burdens of the world, these are a mercy and a blessing from God no doubt. But it’s one thing to find temporary rest in temporal things, its another thing to find true lasting rest for our souls.

In Matthew 11 Jesus gives an invitation to the worldweary, the troubled soul, and those who mourn; to come to him and he will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Comfort for this life

One thing that I find great comfort in is that when I am troubled, is that God is not ignorant of what I am going through. He knows what it is like to mourn, to endure suffering, to walk in the valley of the shadow of death; because he has experienced it himself.

Though he was God in the flesh, Jesus was also a man well aquainted with suffering,

Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

So when we are troubled by the chaos of the world, when we are overwhelmed, or when we mourn the loss of loved ones. Take comfort in the fact that Jesus knows how you feel intimately. He has experienced loss, he has felt betrayal, and he has had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Not only that, but we can rest in the truth that no matter what goes on in our lives, as impossible as it may seem to us, God will use even the very difficult things in our lives to accomplish his perfect plan, for his glory and for the good of those who love him.

When we remember that he knows what we are going through, and trust in his soverieng and perfect plan, we can experience peace through every sort of trial that we might face, for he is gentle and lowly in heart.

But Jesus does not just give us peace and hope for this life only.

Hope for the life after

It was through Jesus Christ’s own suffering and death on the cross that he paid the price for the sins of the whole world. And it was through his being raised from the dead, that we have the hope for the resurrection of our own bodies to eternal life with him.

The rest for weary souls that Jesus offers goes beyond this earthly life.

When we come to him we can trust him with the hardships of this life, but we also trust him with the life to come. So when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death ourselves we can be confident that he is walking with us, and will be with us on the other side.

All of this is what we are invited to. Jesus invites us to recieve this, saying “come to me.”

How do we come to him? We come to him by confessing and repenting from our sins, and believing in him for salvation. Repentance and faith. Jesus says in,

John 14:1 (ESV)

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

and he says later on in John 14:6

John 14:6 (ESV)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

God has made it that simple for us. That if we confess and repent, turn from our sins, and simply believe in him, we will be given salvation and eternal life with him. This is the comfort and the hope that Jesus invites us to. And when we recieve it, nothing can take it away. But we all must decide this for ourselves.

Jesus gives us comfort, peace and rest in this life, and hope for the next. When we face hardships, we can have our souls restored. When we suffer, we can know that God in heaven knows our suffering intimately. When we mourn, we need not weep as those who have no hope. And when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we can do so knowing that eternal life is promised to us if we have recieved it from Christ.