Jesus, My True Rest
Jesus, My True Rest
I was chatting online yesterday night with a sister-in-Christ whom I have not caught up with for a long time.
We updated each other on what has happened in our lives for the past two years, and somehow, we started to share on “resting in the Lord”.
And suddenly, she asked me how is the word “rest” written in Chinese characters.
So I replied: “休息lor…”
To my surprise, she exclaimed in excitement: “Really? Is that how it is written in Chinese?”
So I told her: “Remember the verse that talks about “oh come to me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
I asked her if she recalls where this verse is taken from, as I have forgotten. But at the same time, I looked it up in my Chinese Bible and found this in Matthew 11:28.
She also found the verse, almost simultaneously.
Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your 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.”
This is the Chinese translation (for those of you who can read Chinese):-
马太福音 11：28-30：” “凡劳苦担重担的人可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。我心里肉和谦卑，你们当负我的轭，学我的样式；这样，你们心里就必得享安息。因为我的轭是容易的，我的担子是轻省的。
The NIV version of the Chinese Bible translated ‘rest’ as “安息 ”.
But in the Chinese vernacular, in common figures of speech, we do not write: 我要安息了(which means in English “I want to rest”), do we?
Instead, we write “我要休息了”to mean “I want to rest” right?
It was at this instant, as I was reading the verse, that the Holy Spirit dropped another nugget of revelation into my heart!
And I was so excited, as He revealed more and more to me, which I’m going to share with you now.
Firstly, do you notice that the words 休息 which means ‘rest’ in Chinese, comprises two Chinese characters.
Now we know that Chinese characters originated from pictograms from ancient times.
Let’s look at the two characters that combine to mean the word ‘rest’ separately to uncover this revelation.
In the Chinese character 休 (pronounced as ‘xiu’), we see a 人 written side by side with the character 木 (which means ‘wood’).
This calls to mind the following verse from John 15: 4-5 when Jesus reveals Himself as the True Vine.
He says: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. (John 15: 5)
The Amplified Bible used the word ‘dwell’ for ‘abide’. Basically, it means ‘to stay’.
Can you see therefore that the Chinese character休 is pictorially speaking, a man abiding/dwelling/staying with Christ, represented by the木, which is wood?
By the way, the word 木 is also pictorially, a人 on a 十 (i.e. a Man on a Cross)
Remember that Chinese characters originated from pictograms because the early Chinese people composed words from what they see by their eyes, just as the Egyptians use hieroglyphics.
Now let’s look at the other half of the Chinese word for ‘rest’ - 息.
It is made up of a 自 (which means ‘me’ or ‘我’) over a 心 (which means ‘heart’).
So put together, pictorially, the other word for rest息 is actually the picture of a person over a heart, i.e. guarding one’s heart.
Where this appears in the Bible, let’s look at Philippians 4: 6-7 which says
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
What, then, is this ‘peace of God’?
It is the shalom that Jesus gives unto us as He says in John
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Put together the two Chinese characters, 休息, unveils the true meaning of the word ‘rest’ as defined by Jesus himself in the Bible.
So, brothers and sisters, we are to guard our hearts with the peace of God, with the shalom that Jesus gives us. And this shalom peace can only be found in Him, so in Him we shall Abide and Dwell in.
And there, we shall encounter and enter the True Rest – Jesus Christ, the Son of God!
For in Hebrews 4: 9-10, the Apostle Paul writes “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from his.”
And that rest, as illustrated by the Chinese characters休息 is found in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!!!
posted by weiwen @ 4:36 AM
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