Today is January 2nd. Notably, many employers will give people the first day of the New Year off. This may be because late nights and some possible over indulging that might not make for the most productive employees on the 1st.

Today many people are getting back to work, back “into the grind.” We have had time to celebrate, time to recover, time to make plans and resolutions — but today, it’s time to put those things into action and put ourselves into action.

But I think the rhythm of these holidays show us something about how God made us to live. The Hebrew Sabbath was positioned at the end of the week, on Saturday. It was a time to rest and recover from a hard week’s work. There were stipulations not to work on these days so that you could truly rest. Jesus Himself took the Sabbath to “rest” in the tomb before that first Easter Sunday.

When Easter Sunday came, He broke out of that tomb and got to work. The Resurrection is a signal to us that activity is a good thing, it is something God has given us. Our work is a gift to ourselves and to our neighbors. Our work is our coming out of our tombs and living for the sake of others and for the enjoyment of it ourselves.

If you’re struggling to see the excitement in your work, maybe that means that you need some better rest during times of rest. Get to bed earlier, take a nap, leave your phone in the other room. Make that rest important so that you can rise out of your rest like Jesus rose out of the tomb, ready to change the world and lead it into a new and exciting age. Know that while you work, Jesus Christ is at work in you by His grace for the sake of your neighbors and yourself.