Vacation is awesome. The idea of retreating – celebrating – renewing your zest for life. These are really good things. I would argue, this is even modeled by Jesus in the Gospels. Not only does He frequently retreat to be alone with His Father, but He is accused of being a carouser because wherever He and His Apostles went – the party followed!
That’s not a part of the character of Jesus that gets much love in the American pulpit. It’s hard to communicate that Jesus had a lot of fun, without feeling responsible for spelling out the limits to what can be considered fun without crossing some religious/moral/spiritual line. And depending on the church, that line can be all over the place!
So without getting into a battle of what is acceptable fun (like Paul says, “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful…” – 1 Corinthians 6:12 ISV) – let’s celebrate life to the fullest, in a way that glorifies our King and edifies His character in us! Whether that is done through a trip to Disney World or while reading a paperback on the beach – or maybe even just trying to not break a limb on the Slip ‘N Slide in the backyard.
My wish for you is that you may find moments of rest, reflection and restoration through some form of vacation this Summer. And even if you can’t “get away” – find time to be with the Father, the creator of all the Earth and the inventor of the very concept of FUN!