This was actually a post I tried to write a few months ago. But my thoughts weren't complete.
Now summer has come and gone, and while schedules have changed with the start of school and fall activities, no one is any less busy. Including myself. Once again I am reminded that waiting for "a better time" to do something is never going to happen.
It just has to be done.
In regards to Sunday, I should be doing more with it than what I am. Or rather, doing less. I tried for a while to make it a point to get as many of my weekend chores done on Saturday. Then I could intentionally not be working on Sunday in reverence to God and His day. But since then my attempts have dwindled down to mere fleeting thoughts of being more diligent on Saturday.
So I continue to finish up my chores on Sundays - folding clothes, ironing, washing dishes, buying groceries.
You know what makes this harder? Across the board, Sunday has become just another Saturday. Stores are open, restaurants are serving food, games and events are being held. People go out to eat after church (yeah, they're not preparing dinner on the Sabbath...but what about the people who are?), buy their groceries in the afternoon, and head to the ballgame that evening. The entire day is packed with things to do.
Where does God fit?
Oh, wait. We gave Him that hour and a half in the morning while we daydreamed through church.
Back in the day, God decreed His people to abstain from any kind of work whatsoever. They weren’t even allowed to gather food for their Sabbath meals; that was done ahead of time. He wanted His people to take a break from life and rest so they could enter the new week refreshed. But more than that, He wanted them to reflect on Himself. He wanted His people to remember who He was and whose they were. It was a holy day. A holy day for a holy God.
He even made it one of the Ten Commandments:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. -Exodus 20:8-11
Sounds nice, doesn't it? Well, check out this next verse. God wasn't joking around when He made that commandment:
'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD, who makes you holy.
Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.' -Exodus 31:13-17
Can you imagine if Jesus hadn't come? We'd all be dead.
4 comments:
I love being in Israel. Much of the country shuts down on Friday afternoon and on to Saturday. It really helps to feel like it is the Sabboth. Now to spend more time with the Lord on this day He made for us.
This makes me think of Francis Chan's sermon series - Lukewarm and Lovin' It which inspired him to write Crazy Love. We get so comfortable just going with the flow that we forget HOW AMAZING IS OUR GOD?!?!
Your post also makes me think about Dave last night wanting to know about Chanukkah. So we read about what it is all about. He asked if we could celebrate it this year and I said well we are not Jewish. And, as children do sometimes bring up the obvious, he said "but they celebrate it because God gave them a win in their battle with the mean Syrians." OK, I guess that's a good reason to celebrate! He still provides victory for us :D
My Sabbath looks more like a circus than a day of rest. Here's a typical Sunday:
Get two girls ready for church. Teach 2nd grade Sunday school then lead a contemporary worship service, all starting at 7:30 a.m. and ending around noon. Feed two kids and hungry husband. Prepare for next day’s Bible study, which I agreed to lead (I mean I can’t say NO to God!) Help child one with homework. Break up child one’s wrestling match with child two (Did I mention these are girls?). Straighten up the house. Update my blog. Grade student papers. Try to fit in quiet time with God. Fall in a heap.
Not good.
I stand guilty as charged. Thanks for the reminder.
Alan - that would totally disrupt our culture to shut things down like that...but would so totally help to refocus our eyes on our Creator!
Dave - I suppose the same could be said for the Sabbath, huh? It was a Jewish custom and we don't necessarily need to practice it. Yet I believe there is so much value in so many of the Old Testament traditions and commands, even though Jesus came and gave the old Law a makeover.
Jennifer - Life is complicated. Application of these truths is difficult, especially with a family to work into the mix. Not that they shouldn't be doing it, too, but it's hard to get everyone on board. Keep me posted on that!
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