The Gift of Sabbath

Do you plan how you will rest? Do you work into your daily and weekly schedule times to rest/reflect/unplug/unwind? It is getting more and more difficult in our day and age to find time to be quiet and still. All too often our days are scheduled and full, and the moments we do have we spend checking up on our devices to see what’s going on in the world. We are plugged in, tuned in, giving 110% and all too often simply crashing at the end of the day. This lifestyle is not sustainable. And it also is not God-honouring.

When God created everything He established a rhythm to life, and demonstrated it through the creation process. On the seventh day He rested from creating. God didn’t stop being God — He still sustained and upheld everything He had made, but He didn’t keep working. God rested (check out Genesis 2:1-3). God demonstrated the need to rest, to not always be doing work. Later on when He gave the Israelites the law (the 10 Commandments), God instructed those who follow Him to set aside the Sabbath to rest and worship (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5).

Jesus, knowing the will of God perfectly, told the temple rulers and teachers of the law something similar as well. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (see Mark 2:23-3:6 for the whole story). The Sabbath is a gift from God to us! We are called to rest from our weekly activities, but not stop doing good.

There has been a move away from setting aside one day a week for rest and worship, and it’s gotten to the point where Sunday doesn’t really look any different from any other day of the week. Perhaps it’s time to step back towards setting Sunday apart from the rest of the week, so that we can rest and reflect, unplug and unwind, and become more connected to our Creator.

This Sunday we’re going to meet at our usual time at our usual place – 4pm at Bethel (70 William St. S.). I hope that you’ll plan to be there.

Blessings, Pastor Mike