Murdered Anyone Today?
Have you murdered someone today? If not, how come? What stops you from doing that? Is it simply because it's against the law? Perhaps because it's ingrained in our human conscience. For followers of Christ, it may also be because God has commanded us to honour human life, give dignity to it, and not take it away from another person.
"Thou shalt not murder" is one of the Ten Commandments, and none of us likely have issue with obeying it. We say, "It's a command. One of the big ten. Of course I'll obey it."
OK, so when's the last time you took a Sabbath? Better put, is your commitment to honour the Sabbath as strong as your commitment to not murder? If not, how come? They are both big ten commands.
In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was understood to be a 24-hour period (the seventh day of the week) where one rested from work and gave dedicated attention to God. It was time for physical rest and spiritual renewal.
In modern times, although "Sabbath" lost its spiritual context, the idea of resting one day a week remained. It was only a few decades ago that almost all stores and services were closed on Sundays.
Recently there has been a different story. Stores are open seven days a week. Workplaces encroach on our time off with emails and phone calls. In fact, I would suggest that one of the worst offenders of "not resting" is the church. We may give attention to the concept of a day for spiritual renewal, but I've been in churches where physical rest is ignored. These churches fill calendars with gatherings, meetings, and events, which, when combined with the expectation that good Christians will attend them all, leaves little room for physical rest.
After years of "work more and do more" in society, I am thankful today there is now a growing interest in rest. Workplaces and even governments are beginning to institute rules and laws for better work-life balance. They (sadly, not the church) are leading the way to reclaiming rest as integral to life.
So let's return to this biblical command. How do we practice the command for Sabbath (physical rest and spiritual renewal) in the world and church today?
Practice #1: Pick a time and set it aside in your calendar. Although we don't need to be legalistic about exactly 24-hours every week, I do think a solid 24 hours is the best way to go. For some, it may look different, and we need to give grace to each other in this, but God was pretty smart in instituting a full day.
Practice #2: During our Sabbath, avoid all rules of do's and don'ts (rules are the enemy of Sabbath rest), and instead take hold of principles. What kind of principles do I mean?
Principle #1: What to avoid on your Sabbath. The important principle is to rest from all types of "have to" work, or work that drains us of life. As we shall see below, "have to" work is different for each person, but in general we want to avoid work that comes from "have to" mindset (chores, errands, your job, etc).
Principle #2: What to do on your Sabbath. When it comes to deciding what to do on your Sabbath, the principle is simple: does it bring you life and joy to engage in it? Does it feed your soul? Does it cause you to flourish? If it does, then feel free embrace it as part of your Sabbath.
Principle #3: Have grace for one another. As mentioned above, what feeds one may drain another, and vice versa. That's why hard and fast rules do not work, and why we need grace.
For example, you may love mowing the lawn, and so to include it on your Sabbath day actually gives you life. I think that's crazy (I hate mowing the lawn, which is one of the reasons I don't have one), but you do you. If mowing the lawn brings you joy and feeds your soul, go for it. In the same way, I love running on my Sabbath, but another person may avoid it.
You may be reading this and think to yourself, "What about the things that have to get done, and my Sabbath day is the only day to do it?" This is where we get into the most important principle of Sabbath.
Principle #3: Surrender! Sabbath = “let it be.” In other words, Sabbath requires surrender. If we only stop when we are finished all our work, we will never stop - because our work is never completely done. We must surrender the undone and trust God will give us the grace to complete it.
PAUSE and REFLECT: What role does Sabbath play in your walk with God? Is it simply wishful thinking? Do you dabble in it here and there? Is it a strong, yet unmet, desire? Or is it a regularly attempted practice?
Allow me to share the same Scripture from last week's post (also on rest):
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
~ Jesus
Last week I underlined "unforced rhythms of grace." Today, it's "I'll show you how to take a real rest." My friend, "real rest" begins with Sabbath.
Yes, Sabbath is difficult. It is one of the most counter-cultural practice the church models for the world. It's also one of the hardest commandments for the follower of Jesus to abide in.
Yet for those who desire to be fully alive, Sabbath incarnates the prayer, "Lord, Thy kingdom come." We are trusting that God's way is a good way, and his path leads us to wellness. However, as Alan Redpath once stated, before we can pray, “Lord, Thy Kingdom come”, we must be willing to pray, “My Kingdom go”.
So what needs to go in order for you to embrace Sabbath?
No one is expecting perfection. There are weeks that go by where I do not engage in the practice of Sabbath as I would like, or sometimes at all. But I am on my way, and I am convinced followers of Jesus will not experience the fullness of life offered by Jesus until they engage in Sabbath rest.
What is a fitting next step for you? Perhaps it's simply scheduling a time slot. Perhaps it's giving yourself permission to leave things undone or less than perfect. Perhaps it's releasing yourself from rules and instead embracing principles. Take a moment to quietly bring your heart before God with this question.
Whatever your next step may be, remember God is always for you. He is for your flourishing, and his Sabbath commandment will help you walk the path to wellness.
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