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“Why do we only ‘rest in peace?’ Why don’t we ‘live in peace’ too?”

Theologically speaking one “rests in peace” when they pass away with the hope of resurrection in Christ to come. It’s rooted in stories like Mark 5:38-42, where Jesus said the young girl (who died) was only sleeping.

We could say our heavenly rest is the most at peace we’ll ever experience because we rest in the peace of Christ.

To the later point, a common benediction (final blessing) spoken in the church is the order to “Go (live) in peace, to love and serve the Lord.” You can see again in this phrase, that the peace we’d enjoy is found in the dedication to God’s purposes (loving and serving).

So we don’t just get to “rest in peace.” Our heavenly rest comes at the conclusion of a life lived in the peace of Christ; serving His purposes in our relationships (loving) and our diligence to the ministry (serving).