Restful Sleep, Collapsing Tents, Sailing Ships

Have you ever been so tired that as soon as you got home from that loooooong trip and boooooooooooring meeting that you immediately fell into bed and welcomed sleep? As soon as your head hit the pillow, in complete eshaustion, sleep came quickly. In the morning you awake feeling totally refreshed. "Sleep is a welcoming experience for those who need not fear the morning" is how Lutzer compares death for a believer, tired and worn out by the many years on earth. "Those who die in the Lord need not fear the unknown, for they fall asleep to awaken in the arms of God".



He also compares it like Paul did in the NT to a collapsing tent. Our present body houses the Holy Spirit of God, yet oaver the years, our "tent" becomes weathered by the storms. Eventually the structure will collapse and then it will be time to move in our mansion!



Paul also used an analogy in Philippians 1:23 that death is as sailing a ship. The word "depart" was used as in the "loosing of an anchor". So, as Christians are tied to this "dock" we call earth, or anchored in this life, once the anchor is loosed, we are free to be put out to sea. A new journey to a new world.



All of these analogies were interesting to me, but the sleep one works best for me. When I am so tired at night and I lie down, I can feel my body begin to relax. It no longer is resisting the draw of rest. I coined a term with Katie one night years ago because we spend many nights reading the Word to each other. I will read one night, she will read the next. It's not unusual for the one not reading to be the first to fall asleep! I noticed one night that I can tell the precise moment when someone "submits" to rest. Watch someone someday! Moms have probably known this for years because of watching their children, but I never had seen it before. There is a moment when rest comes, when sleep overcomes you and the body just totally relaxes. Breathing changes, it's almost deeper. We "submit" to sleep. I liken that to what death will be like. Submission.



Christ submitted to death, only to overcome it! He went there first so that I do not have to fear it!



That moment just before I slip into sub-conciousness I can still hear what is going on around me. I can still think things, but I am also aware that I am on the brink of submission. It's a bizarre feeling that is hard to describe, but when I am overcome by rest, it is a welcome relief from the strain of the day. When Christ welcomes me home, that will be a welcome relief that surpasses any twelve hours of rest I have ever had! Woooohooooooooooo!