( Photo by Stuart Miles - FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Today was my sabbath...sort of. When I say sabbath, I mean it was my day of rest, of stopping, of ceasing. Sabbath actually doesn't mean 'rest' but instead it was the final day of the week in the Hebrew world. But rather than get into that discussion, I wanted to tell you about my day of rest in hopes that it might encourage you to think about rest and ceasing and restoration.
Why take a sabbath?
Paul tells us that we are no longer under law but instead are under grace (Romans 6:14). So that means we are not saved and loved by God because we follow all the commands perfectly (over 600 in the Old Testament alone). We are loved by God because of the work of Christ on the Cross. And so if that's the case, why bother thinking about or having a day of rest? Well here are 3 reasons that strike me.
1. The rhythm of creation described in Genesis 1-2 ends with God resting. He is God so it's not as if He was tired (see John 5:17), but He rested as a picture to humans of a work-rest rhythm. God saw it fit to work and to rest, and He even made the natural world have that same rhythm - growing, producing, and then resting. Since God saw it fit in His creation of the universe to show us and talk about rest, it seems worth considering.
2. Jesus said very clearly in Mark 2:23-27 that man wasn't made for the sabbath but that sabbath was made for man. By saying this He was telling His hearers that man is not subordinate to the notion of sabbath, but that God gave sabbath to bless.
3. I need sabbath. It remind me of many thing that I need to recall.
- It reminds me to rest when my tendency is to want to produce
- It reminds me that God is in control of all things
- It reminds me that I have a tendency to make myself too much the center of things
- It reminds me that the world continues to function just fine even when I am not active
My sabbath experience
Because I am a pastor and Sunday is a work day for me, and because we have 2 young children, 'rest' and sabbath look a bit different in this stage of life. Today Jenny and I split the day and each had about 4 hours to sabbath. We ended the day together by buying a pizza, eating with the kids, watching a short kids devotional on YouTube, and then getting them ready for bed. It was good for me to not 'do' so much today. I drove, I prayed, I had a meal, I went to the gym, I journaled - I did things that would help restore me for work in the week to come.
(Located on Facebook - artist unknown)
I also didn't use my cell phone other than to be in touch with people with whom I wanted to speak. That meant no e-mail (work or personal), no Facebook, no YouTube - nothing. And while I wasn't itching to tweet something or scroll through Facebook updates, I did notice one thing I had not noticed before: I enjoy e-mail because I get things done on e-mail. I reply, I update, I get meetings planned, and more. It was interesting to experience that desire to 'do', and so I had to battle and say with the Psalmist that God is my reward and He is the one that truly satisfies - "LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup" (Psalm 16:5).
This post isn't to give you all the info you need to Sabbath well. It's to share part of my experience with you and to ask you a few questions:
- Do you take a day of rest during the week?
- Do you say you 'can't afford to'?
- What does rest look like for you? What does ceasing mean for you?
- What is God calling you to as you reflect on this idea of rest?
- Do you need faith to trust Him enough to rest?
Be blessed. Rest.
- tC
Why take a sabbath?
Paul tells us that we are no longer under law but instead are under grace (Romans 6:14). So that means we are not saved and loved by God because we follow all the commands perfectly (over 600 in the Old Testament alone). We are loved by God because of the work of Christ on the Cross. And so if that's the case, why bother thinking about or having a day of rest? Well here are 3 reasons that strike me.
1. The rhythm of creation described in Genesis 1-2 ends with God resting. He is God so it's not as if He was tired (see John 5:17), but He rested as a picture to humans of a work-rest rhythm. God saw it fit to work and to rest, and He even made the natural world have that same rhythm - growing, producing, and then resting. Since God saw it fit in His creation of the universe to show us and talk about rest, it seems worth considering.
2. Jesus said very clearly in Mark 2:23-27 that man wasn't made for the sabbath but that sabbath was made for man. By saying this He was telling His hearers that man is not subordinate to the notion of sabbath, but that God gave sabbath to bless.
3. I need sabbath. It remind me of many thing that I need to recall.
- It reminds me to rest when my tendency is to want to produce
- It reminds me that God is in control of all things
- It reminds me that I have a tendency to make myself too much the center of things
- It reminds me that the world continues to function just fine even when I am not active
My sabbath experience
Because I am a pastor and Sunday is a work day for me, and because we have 2 young children, 'rest' and sabbath look a bit different in this stage of life. Today Jenny and I split the day and each had about 4 hours to sabbath. We ended the day together by buying a pizza, eating with the kids, watching a short kids devotional on YouTube, and then getting them ready for bed. It was good for me to not 'do' so much today. I drove, I prayed, I had a meal, I went to the gym, I journaled - I did things that would help restore me for work in the week to come.
(Located on Facebook - artist unknown)
I also didn't use my cell phone other than to be in touch with people with whom I wanted to speak. That meant no e-mail (work or personal), no Facebook, no YouTube - nothing. And while I wasn't itching to tweet something or scroll through Facebook updates, I did notice one thing I had not noticed before: I enjoy e-mail because I get things done on e-mail. I reply, I update, I get meetings planned, and more. It was interesting to experience that desire to 'do', and so I had to battle and say with the Psalmist that God is my reward and He is the one that truly satisfies - "LORD, You alone are my portion and my cup" (Psalm 16:5).
This post isn't to give you all the info you need to Sabbath well. It's to share part of my experience with you and to ask you a few questions:
- Do you take a day of rest during the week?
- Do you say you 'can't afford to'?
- What does rest look like for you? What does ceasing mean for you?
- What is God calling you to as you reflect on this idea of rest?
- Do you need faith to trust Him enough to rest?
Be blessed. Rest.
- tC
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