Last week we talked about the sacrifice that Jesus made for us so that we could have eternal life with Him in heaven. We also talked about the idea that, in exchange for His sacrifice, we are called to live with our whole heart for Jesus and that whole-heart living includes more prayer, Bible reading and loving those around us.
Another idea that does not get a lot of attention is the sabbath but, as we approach Easter in two weeks, one simple thing we may be able to do for God is to try making Sundays a true day of rest. God wants us to reserve this day because He knows we need rest and he wants us to focus on him for one full day out of the week. And that brings us to today’s passage which is from Exodus 20:8-11:
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 of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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.
Taking a Sabbath does not necessarily mean we need to be in prayer and reading scripture all day on Sundays but simply that we are called take a break from our normal weekly activities.
For some, this might mean not going into the office on Sunday or not returning work emails. Others may not even do work around the house. However you decide to observe the Sabbath is between you and God but the more you make it about Him, the more he’ll accept it as the gift that a true sabbath is supposed to be.
So, give it a try this week if you can. And maybe try asking your whole household to do the same. Doing it together may even make it a fun exercise where you have to plan ahead in order to honor God.
Questions
- Do you agree that in our society the Sabbath doesn’t seem to have the same importance in relation to being a “good” Christian as prayer, Bible reading, and good works? Why or why not?
- Do you believe it is harder or easier to observe the sabbath now vs. when the verses above were written?
- What are some things we can do to increase the likelihood that we’ll be able to observe the sabbath more consistently?
- What are some of the benefits that might result from observing the sabbath?
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