Rest and Relaxation

I just got back from a little vacation this week, and find myself very relaxed but also perplexed. I often go off into various theological and philosophical speculations during times of rest, and this one was related directly to the occasion of a vacation itself. I am wondering about the concept of rest. I know that St. Thomas Aquinas probably has something to say about it, but not in the context of modern vacations. So here are my brief thoughts.

Will Heaven be like working without getting tired, or will it be more like never having to work? We do call it "eternal rest", but that is not really referring to the same thing. We also talk about "serving God forever" which has the connotation of effort of some sort. So, then, when we have a "vacation" here on Earth, what is it telling us? Are we resting here as a foreshadowing of what comes in eternity, or are we experiencing something that has no real relation to eternity and is only needed because we are fallen beings who get tired?

There actually appears to be a balance of a sort. We will serve God forever (mostly in worshiping Him), but it will not be an effort. I like to compare it to breathing. We breathe somewhat naturally. It just happens because we are used to it, and we rarely even think about it (except usually when it is hard to breathe and that makes the point even more clear). Worshiping God will be like breathing; in fact that is a perfect illustration, because breathing is how we take in the air we need to survive, and worship will be similar in eternity.

So, when you head off to your next vacation, realize all that it is telling you. We are fallen and need to rest. In eternity we will worship God always. The rest we need now is significantly less than the rest we will enjoy in Heaven. So recognize how your current rest is pointing you to eternal rest. And see in it also, that our limited worship that we offer to God now, is nothing compared to what eternal worship will be like when we are fully in God's presence forever.