The Sabbath has always been the strangest of the ten commandments. There are only ten and they are the original Big Ten. Do we really need a commandment to remember to take a day off? "Don't murder each other, Don't sleep with people you are not married to, Don't steal other people's stuff, oh, and remember to take a day off each week." The weirdest thing is that is probably one of the hardest for me to keep. Why is that? God gave the commandments to the Israelites who had just come out of slavery. Slaves are valued by what they produce. If you produce a lot of bricks then you are a valuable slave. If you don't produce many bricks you are not very valuable. I like being productive, even on my day off. I start the day with a "to do" list and at the end of the day if there are check marks all the way down I feel good. God knows that I tend to value myself by what I produce so he gave me a command. One day a week I am supposed to not work. I am supposed to be unproductive to remind myself that my value does not come from what I do but from whose I am. I am a child of God made so by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I guess lately I have been convicted of neglecting the fourth commandment. I have a Blackberry and those things are terrible if you want to take a day off. The Blackberry may have done more than any other device to make me a slave again. Jesus died to set me free from sin but also from the need to prove my value through work. If I do not Sabbath than I am neglecting my salvation. Now, for most of you the Sabbath means Sunday. For me, it means Tuesday. I guess today I am serving notice that I will begin blogging on a different day. Tuesday I am going to turn my Blackberry off and begin working harder at being unproductive. Tuesday will be my weekly reminder that I have been set free by a Savior who constantly tells me to remember even through rest.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
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5 comments:
Rest is one of the hardest things to do. Kinda funny really. The sabbath is a testimony to God's love for us. He sure knows our tendencies. You would think he was omniscient or something.
I'm going to lay down.
Scott
Take comfort in knowing your not the only one. I know I am glad I am not the only one, although I don't take joy in people "sinning" with me. signed, R&R (not)
Great word, Joe!
A super book I read on the same subject is called, The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, by Mark Buchanan. At first I thought, how boring to write an entire book on Sabbath rest...let alone read it! However, it was well worth the read.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 says, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?"
God's commands, including the Sabbath, are for our good. Now that's a thought - God knows what's best for us. I find a great prayer is often, "Lord, save me from myself!" (Which is what we need when we ignore the invitation to rest on the Sabbath.)
Looking forward to not reading your blog next Tuesday!
Thank you for this, especially today. I recently received a promotion at my job, and so I guess I am feeling the pressure more than I had been before. Previously I had no problem taking one day off (at least not from the things related to my job that mostly felt like work). But now it seems ever more present that there are things that need my attention, things to get done. One of the most vivid memories I have of "learning" about Sabbath rest was during a training I was part of on a traditional Jewish idea of Sabbath. I hope that this is not taken out of context, but the idea of Psalm 46:10 was brought up over and over again, about how much we need to "be still and know" that God is God. It ties in so perfectly with the idea of grace; that there is nothing that I can do to make God love me more. One extra day of working at making God love me more isn't going to accomplish anything good, except to likely make me rely on myself that much more.
Thank you.
Davin,
I think you are exactly right. I will be praying you are able to rest even in the midst of greater responsibility. Joe
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