In our previous post, we examined the nature of the New Covenant rest which the believer has in Christ, a rest from the search for meaning and purpose in life. We now find the “means” through which we go about entering this rest in verse 11-13. Verse 11 reads as follows in NIV “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience”. The therefore which begins this verse connects it directly to verse ten, since Christ has provided this rest, we should make every effort to enter into it, it is a rest which requires some effort to enter. The term translated “make every effort” is the aorist subjunctive of spoudazo- to strive or endeavor earnestly. The use of the aorist subjunctive tells us that this effort has been made possible, and is not pinned down to any particular point in time, but can be undertaken any time. This is followed by the aorist infinitive of eiserchomai- to come or go into, to enter. The infinitive is a verbal noun, that which is in it’s form a verb, but is used as a noun. It is used here as the object of spoudazo, it is the object or goal of our making every effort. And what is it we are to make every effort to enter? “That rest”! Rest here again is katapausis- not merely a temporary respite, but a state or condition of “resting”. It is used here as a noun, which again points to this rest as being a state or condition of existence, this rest becomes part of our nature once we have entered into it. Once we have made this effort and entered this rest for the soul which Jesus promised, we remain there for the rest of our lives. We have found the meaning and purpose of our existence in Christ, and now we can go about living out the joy of fulfilling that purpose, living with the sense of meaning which only it can provide. Our following posts will explore exactly what we are to direct this effort toward, and exactly where we go about finding this meaning and purpose which ultimately bring us into this rest from the soul which Jesus promised.