What is sleep in these changing times? It is simply a vehicle for time travel; it carries me from one day to the next. I do not wake up refreshed (though I take joy for the brief moment when my head hits the pillow and I go from wakefulness to dreams) and my dreams only tire out my mind and make my journey seem arduous.
Sleep is not rest; Christ is rest. Too much sleep and you are a sluggard, too little and you are ineffective. Who ever achieves the perfect amount of sleep? Is the perfect amount achievable; does it even exist? I sleep for the conventional 8 hours: I do not feel rested. I sleep for 12 hours: I do not feel rested. I sleep for 5 hours: I am exhausted.
What, then, is sleep to me? It is a necessity, for when I grow exhausted my mind is weakend, my resolve attenuates, and I am left with only my flesh to battle temptation. I might as well leave a steak to battle a lion or a drop of water to battle a tsunami. So then, sleep is a vehicle for strength from God, but it is not true rest. It is a shadow of the rest to come...or is it?
Someone argued that sleep is good. Perhaps, but surely we will not sleep in heaven. We have no use for it there which means sleep is a grace granted by God to a fallen world. Rest in Christ means we will be able to worship tirelessly for an eternity. Isn't sleep more a shadow of death than it is of rest? When you sleep your thoughts are reduced to almost nothing, hours pass by as if only seconds, and you expend the least amount of energy. Death is the pinnacle of sleep; your thoughts are no more, time is no more, and you no longer expend your energy.
Therefore, sleep is bittersweet to me. Sweet because it helps me combat sin, bitter because it is not true rest (only a shadow of death). So then, I sleep to fight sin, knowing my true rest is in heaven with Christ.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Boaz
Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
-Ruth 2:1
Our son, Boaz Mark Saltsman, was born on January 10th, 2010. When I tell my people my son's name I typically get the raised eyebrows and the "mmhmm" perplexed nod of the head. It's a different name, I know, but my wife's name is Skye and since her name is unique, it gives us license to give "different" names to our children. Get it? No? Ok, well anyway, we're going to call him "Bo" for short (this usually get's an approving nod , lowers the eyebrows, and shrinks the eyes back to normal size). Mark is my father's name in case your wondering how the return to normalcy came roaring back with the middle name. It has been a family tradition to name the son's middle name after a family member on the man's side. My dad named my middle name after his father and I did the same with Boaz. So his name is Boaz Mark Saltsman, Bo for short; Bo is a good nickname.
We picked Boaz because it is a unique name and because there is an interesting story in the bible that involves a man named Boaz. It is a story primarily about the faithfulness of a Moabite woman but Boaz's role cannot be ignored. His role as kinsman redeemer to Ruth (whom the book of the bible is named after) casts a shadow that points down the road to Christ. Boaz is the father of Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David who was eventually the father of Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:18-22, Matthew 1:1-17)!
I've heard many takes on what Boaz's name means: "quickness" or "swiftness" as related to a horse. It is also the name of one of the two columns in the temple that Solomon built for God. With regards to the temple, some scholars say it means "in strength." Whatever it means, I hope my son will be reminded of the redeemer who came to save him. I hope he will be reminded of the one who came to this earth to become "the firstborn among many heirs" and turn any who would believe into his kinsman.
May he remember the name of above all names,
-Ruth 2:1
Our son, Boaz Mark Saltsman, was born on January 10th, 2010. When I tell my people my son's name I typically get the raised eyebrows and the "mmhmm" perplexed nod of the head. It's a different name, I know, but my wife's name is Skye and since her name is unique, it gives us license to give "different" names to our children. Get it? No? Ok, well anyway, we're going to call him "Bo" for short (this usually get's an approving nod , lowers the eyebrows, and shrinks the eyes back to normal size). Mark is my father's name in case your wondering how the return to normalcy came roaring back with the middle name. It has been a family tradition to name the son's middle name after a family member on the man's side. My dad named my middle name after his father and I did the same with Boaz. So his name is Boaz Mark Saltsman, Bo for short; Bo is a good nickname.
We picked Boaz because it is a unique name and because there is an interesting story in the bible that involves a man named Boaz. It is a story primarily about the faithfulness of a Moabite woman but Boaz's role cannot be ignored. His role as kinsman redeemer to Ruth (whom the book of the bible is named after) casts a shadow that points down the road to Christ. Boaz is the father of Obed who was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David who was eventually the father of Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:18-22, Matthew 1:1-17)!
I've heard many takes on what Boaz's name means: "quickness" or "swiftness" as related to a horse. It is also the name of one of the two columns in the temple that Solomon built for God. With regards to the temple, some scholars say it means "in strength." Whatever it means, I hope my son will be reminded of the redeemer who came to save him. I hope he will be reminded of the one who came to this earth to become "the firstborn among many heirs" and turn any who would believe into his kinsman.
May he remember the name of above all names,
Jesus Christ
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