Introduction Ask most people today how they are doing, and the word "busy" is likely to be part of the answer. Everybody seems to be busy, and many people would quickly admit that stress is a regular feature of said busyness. But does it need to be this way? Should it be that way? Is our crowded and stressed out existence the abundant life Jesus offers? It seems to me the clear answer from Scripture is "no", but the only way to avoid the clutter is to know and apply what the Bible teaches. As the old hymn says, "trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." We are finite creatures, so we have limits within which we must operate. We cannot do everything, and saying "yes" to one thing is an implicit "no" to something else. We might not like to admit it, but everything we choose to do either opens or closes the door to the next opportunity to present itself. Our busy schedule reveals a lot of things to which we have said "yes", and every time we now have to say "no" to a new thing it begs the question of whether we are saying "yes" to the right things. Sabbath as a Litmus Test
From the opening chapters of Genesis we read that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh (Gen 2:2:). After God called Israel out of Egypt with many signs and wonders and gave them His holy law. The 4th commandment was to remember the sabbath and keep it holy (Ex 20:8-11). When Israel finally exhausted God's patience and constant warnings to turn from sin, one of the succinct ways God described Israel's unfaithfulness was to charge them with profaning His sabbaths (Ezek 23:38). Sabbath, so it seems, is a big deal in God's plan for His people. Indeed, the faithfulness of the people of God was strongly linked to their proper observance of the sabbath. God's concern was not perfunctory observance either; the prophet Isaiah rebuked Israel for going through the motions of external worship while being preoccupied in heart and mind with their own desires (Is 58:2-5). As God extended offers of mercy to rebellious Israel, He assured them that those who honored His sabbaths and delighted in the things that pleased God would be accepted (Is 56:2, 4, and 6). And despite the simplistic arguments from some that sabbath is only an Old Testament idea, the book of Hebrews teaches the enduring relevance of sabbath for God's people: "So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from His" (Hebrews 4:9-10). In regards to the function of the sabbath for His people, God said it is "a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them" (Ezek 20:12). Something about sabbath observance confesses a right understanding of who God is and who we are. Conversely, failure to observe the sabbath reflects a misunderstanding of God and our relationship to Him. The Lord urged His wayward people to repent and return to Him by honoring the sabbath: "If you turn back your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isaiah 58:13-14). The covenant between God and Israel stipulated that obedience would bring blessing, and disobedience would bring curse (Deut 11:26-28). Sincere sabbath observance was essential to being faithful to the Lord. Calendars Reflect Priorities Sabbath observance is principally about alignment with God. The righteous bring themselves into agreement with the the law of the Lord, while the wicked reject the authority of God over them by ignoring His law. Time is a fixed resource that we all have, and this makes it incredibly valuable. We cannot increase or decrease the amount of time we have, all we can do is invest it. While we might use the phrase "I don't have time for that," the truth is we all have the same amount of time--what varies is whether we think a particular request is worth our time. Claiming not to have time for something is another way of saying we have other things we have decided are more important. As such, your calendar reveals what you believe is important. This is not to say that we like or enjoy every item on our calendar. There might be things on the schedule we despise and would get rid of immediately if we were convinced it was possible to do so. But the fact something is on our calendar shows we believe it is necessary for some reason. Perhaps the item is important to someone who matters to us, making it vicariously important. It might be we fear the consequences for not doing something because it matters to someone who has power to affect us. Regardless, our calendar reflects our attempts to manage the perceived demands on our lives. Our schedules are an attempt to juggle the various responsibilities and opportunities we have at any given time. Our attempts may be good or bad, wise or foolish, conscious or unconscious, but our calendar exposes our judgment of what is necessary and important. Gaining Clarity God's instruction for His people to observe the sabbath is about priorities. Yes, there was the weekly requirement to set apart one day out of seven for worship and rest, but there were also other sabbaths Israel was to observe. These predetermined days required planning for them to be honored. These sabbaths provided God's people the opportunity to turn their attention from other things and to fix their gaze on who God is and who they were. The purpose of the sabbaths was to get recalibrated according to God's priorities. Just like an instrument gets out of tune through use and changing environments, God's people need to come back to God to get re-tuned as they go through the trials of life. We need to honor the sabbath to see clearly and live well. Honoring the sabbath requires we acknowledge our limits and embrace the boundaries of our commitments. If we view our limits like a fence, Scripture teaches us to see our good as being found in the freedom we have to remain in our fenced yard. We do not need to waste time wondering if we should pursue what can only be found outside our fenced area; we can rest in knowing that leaving the yard will not lead to our fulfillment. The temptation is always to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but God reminds us that our good is found in enjoying all that there is for us within the fence. Someone who cannot budget for sabbath rest is someone who has refused to embrace God's priorities and abide within their God-given limits. Final Word God commands us to say "no" to many things, and not because He is cruel or stingy. Instead, God desires for us to know what true life is and to experience it abundantly (Jn 10:10). In order to say "yes" to better things we must say "no" to lesser things, and the only way to see the difference is to be properly oriented. And this is why God commands us to stop at least once a week to behold His glory revealed through Christ; we need to be reoriented to what is ultimate so that everything else can be put into perspective. Sabbath is really about letting things become clear by making sure Jesus Christ and His kingdom are the vocal point. Are you taking the time to focus on God through Christ, and will you let Him set your priorities?
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AuthorI am follower of Jesus Christ by God's grace, married to Kelsey, father to four children, and pastor of Lighthouse Church (EPC). Archives
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