Much evidence exists for the value of regular work
breaks and a weekly day off the usual to regain strength and a sense of
perspective. Yet there is another aspect about rest that I never thought of
before. It is this: God values this day of rest so much that He puts it right
up there with His most important commands…
Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” (Isaiah 56:1–2)
Primary to Christian living is heeding justice and
doing righteousness as we wait for the return of Jesus Christ. God blesses
those who do not sit on their hands but are active in doing good things.
We are also to keep those hands from doing any evil,
the other side of doing good. No one can be neutral. That is, in the economy of
God, I am doing good or doing evil, obeying Him or disobeying Him. There is no
middle where anyone can simply do nothing. Even keeping the Sabbath has never
been about doing nothing.
I’ve heard about families who forbid their members to work
or play on Sunday. They were not allowed any type of exertion or any
pleasurable activity. Back in Jesus’ day, the Jews kept Sabbath on Saturday. They
were not allowed to light a fire or carry a stick lest that be interpreted as
work. Jesus was not impressed with their way of keeping Sabbath. It was instead
intended to be a holy day, a day set apart from the norm, reserved for rest and
for worship. This holy day is also a picture of the salvation found in Jesus
Christ.
The normal ‘week’ of humanity involves toil. This includes
work involved with employment, but also work involved with striving to be the
right person, impressing others, generally doing the right things to please God
and man and ourselves. Whatever our work, it makes us tired, but Jesus came to
give us rest from all that.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)
Jesus hints at how the rest He gives, the Sabbath,
points to something beyond a weekly day of rest from physical work. While that physical
rest is good for my body and even renews my spirit, there is a greater rest. The
writer of Hebrews speaks of it, illustrating that the rest God prescribes was not
so much about ceasing to work, but about starting to believe. This rest is
entered into by faith.
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. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:9–11)
The Sabbath of the Old Testament is a road sign that points
to the rest in Christ clarified in the New Testament. Jesus brings salvation to
those striving to be right with God. But instead of struggling to merit His
favor with our work, this blessing is given as a gift. Instead of struggling to
heed justice, do righteousness, and keep from evil, the Lord Jesus Christ freely
offers rest from all of that, a rest that we enter by faith and by choice.
In Him and in that rest, He also provides the grace
and strength to do justly, love righteousness and hate evil. This makes keeping
the Sabbath (no matter which day of the week a person selects) more significant
than going to church, and certainly more significant than a list of activities to
avoid.
Holy God, You know my need for physical rest and the
importance of devoting a day to focus on You. You also know my need for spiritual
rest, not that I rest from pleasing You with what I do or don’t do, but that I rest
in Christ, trusting Him to give me all that I need to do whatever You want me
to do, every day of every week for my entire life.
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