Sabbath Rest

What comes to your mind when you think of the word Sabbath? Does it seem outdated, old covenant, old testament, or the reason you cannot enjoy Chick-Fil-A on Sundays? Does it signify rest? Does it have a positive or negative connotation to it?

One of my favorite things to do is look up a word in the dictionary that I am already familiar with. I think that it helps me to better articulate my thoughts. The word SABBATH is noted first as "the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as the day of rest and religious observance among Jews and some Christians" and "the first day of the week, Sunday, similarly observed by most Christians in commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ" and "any special day of prayer or rest resembling the Sabbath" finally, "a period of rest".  The definitions seem to go in the direction of change from a particular day, to another day, to any day, to any period of time at all. I think this symbolizes the freedom that has occurred in practicing Sabbath rest.

Keeping the Sabbath is actually a part of one of the 10 commandments, I say "actually" because I forget that a lot. Exodus 20:8-11 says "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Now before you worry about the fact that you "work" on the Sabbath...the New Testament does relieve you of any guilt: "Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and rink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17). You don't have to practice the Sabbath. However, there is an important concept behind this practice that we should never lose - and it's more than besides merely going to church once a week or having a "Sunday fun day"

Unfortunately, although they practiced it very well, Pharisees and rulers of the law during the time of Jesus were really missing the point of the Sabbath rest. They were legalistic about following the law to the point where they did not actually have to check their hearts with God. They wanted to know the ruling for every single instance there could ever be. How far you could throw something in exact measurements or what to do if an animal fell in a hole during the Sabbath...and even whether a man should be healed on the Sabbath. They lost the significance of the Sabbath being one of rest because the loving Creator wants to remind his people that they need only to "be still" and know that he is God, it became a time of criticism and judgement upon others. 

There have been a few seasons in my life where I was invited to practice Sabbath. My Sabbath experiences mostly included spending 3-5 hours alone either in solitude and sometimes silence. Since I have been at the Christian discipleship program in Pennsylvania, we practice Sabbath every Monday morning from 9am-12pm. It has been a process, some good experiences and some bad, but today was our last Sabbath. As I sat alone in a chair, doing nothing in particular, I wondered whether I had really grown as much as I hoped to have in coming to this program. I have always felt a lot of pressure to do lots of ministry and to do it well. I have felt pressure to bring hope to the hopeless and peace to the restless...and when I fail, it hurts rather badly. I wonder if I am just not understanding the bigger picture. As I sat there, doing nothing, I realized that I am already loved and saved by Jesus just as much as I ever have been and ever will be. That he doesn't "need" me to do anything for him. His love will never change. Everything I do from here on out (or have ever done) is just "bonus" or "extra credit" and when you already have an A+ you don't need extra credit. I am at rest in his completed work. I could (but won't) sit in that chair for the rest of my life and it'd be ok. This gives me freedom to try and fail, it gives me freedom to try and succeed but not getting prideful about it. I am free to work the 6 days of the week because I am always at rest in Jesus on the 7th. His love for me doesn't change by how much work I do or don't do. I am free to love because I can and because I was loved first. 

So whether you regularly practice a Sabbath, in Christ, you can always find rest in the fact that whatever you do today (during this Christmas season or otherwise),  you are loved completely and perfectly. Nothing you can do will make him love you more and nothing you can do will make him love you less. Take risks, be vulnerable, love others freely, because you are at rest in the completed work of Jesus.

"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 4:10