A Time to Rest

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Genesis 2:1-3 ESV). For the past few days I have been thinking about work. As human beings we need work; however, we also need rest. Both are central to our humanity. Work and rest are creation gifts from God to provide for our joy and satisfaction in life. Jewish Bible scholar Abraham Heschel agrees when he turns conventional wisdom on its head and says, “The greatest hope for the progress of mankind is the Sabbath.” God worked, and God rested. In so doing he established the cycle of six days of work and one day of rest. We can ignore this cycle, but only to our peril. The creation account provides a divine pattern and ordinance for us. The word Sabbath means to cease from our labors. This is not cessation of all activity but rest from the kind of activity we do the other six days. It does not suggest idleness but employing ourselves in other ways. This may include corporate worship and other direct activities that restore the health of our soul, as well as many other things that provide for the rest God intended for us in life. I remember one of the first Sundays that I pastored at Santa Fe Baptist Church in Middle Tennessee. I had so many opportunities to learn and love while I was there. I am convinced there is not a better community of faith anywhere and miss their fellowship greatly. One of those first Sundays, a good friend, Bucky Rowland and a young boy came in to the service late. They were dressed in camouflage and still had a bit of the woods emanating from their clothing! It was a hoot. After the service, they explained they had been out on the young man’s first deer hunt and killed a deer. Of course, they needed to take care of the initial processing so the meat would not spoil, but that made them a bit late for church. They were both very apologetic. My response was, “I am so glad you took the young man out to experience this part of God’s creation. What a great lesson you have taught!” He did look at me a bit odd; but, that’s all a part of the Sabbath rest. The rhythm of working and resting is built into the creation. We desperately need this Sabbath rest, partly because we are human, and on account of the fall, because we are rebellious sinners. At the heart of the fall was a refusal to accept our humanity, our finiteness. In the Sabbath, we can embrace our humanity and declare our trust in God’s provision. I hope yesterday was that kind of day for you. If not, revisit your need for the recharging of strength and vitality that comes from a Sabbath rest.