Rest in God [Grid::Blog::Gospel]

In 397 St.Augustine wrote those words [in Latin] on the first page of a book he entitled "Confessions".
"O God you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you"
He was living in Roman North Africa at a time when the Empire was beginning to collapse. It was a time of great uncertainty and anxiety for everybody. Augustine wrote about how he had come to be a Christian from a background of worldly 'success' in career and with women. He had tried joining a religious cult (today it would be called 'new age') but had turned from that.

O God, You made us for Yourself. In his prayer Augustine reminds us that we are made for God. This is great news for us because it reminds us that God is interested in us. We are not just specks of insignificant matter on the face of an indifferent or even hostile universe. We are made for relationship with God; we are made to share God's love, joy, and peace. We are designed to 'run on' God's own eternal life and not just the biological life we begin at conception. Some Christian thinkers put this as 'sharing in the Divine Life', 'participating in uncreated glory'.
This means that we are in some way incomplete, unfulfilled, 'not firing on all cylinders' until we are in an affirming and positive relationship with God. Hence ....

.... And our hearts are restless. Augustine recognised in all the things that he had tried that he had really been searching for the rest, the peace, the contentment, that God only could give. Like Augustine, we often find in ourselves an aching restlessness, a lack of inner [and outer] peace. We often, like Augustine, try to fill up on other things; work and career, and sexual relations, but also food, buying things, alcohol or drugs, off-beat religion or things like astrology or tarot. People also try throwing themselves into marriage, family and other relationships to find the peace and wholeness of God.

When we try to deal with our spiritual hunger in these ways its a bit like starving people trying to assuage their hunger by eating grass or other non-foods. It does indeed fill their stomach and may take away some fo the hunger but malnourishment is still an issue and death draws closer.
We do find joy and peace in the good things of this world. This is because they reflect God's nature blessing and love. When we find good human relationships, beautiful experiences, satisfying work we can take delight and comfort in them because they are intended to be God's means of conveying something of Divine light and truth. However, they aren't the whole thing and nothing, ultimately substitutes for a personal relationship to the Giver of the good gifts. We will constantly find that they lose their 'enchantment' for us and we still have not found our rest.

Till they find their rest in You. How can our hearts find their rest in God? As we focus our lives on Jesus Christ, he shares with us his relationship with the heavenly Father. He said, "Come to me all who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." [Matthew 11:28-29].

The invitation is to come to him and learn. You don't need to get yourself straight to come to him and begin to find rest. Part of what you learn from him will start to straighten you out. He will teach you how to live in God's rest and how to live in relationship with your loving heavenly Father.

See also Rationale.