Physical Rest; Rest Pt. 3
Rest is what God says it is.
“What about Sunday?!” I hear some of you saying.
In most Christian traditions Sunday is seen as a special day of rest. This mirrors the pattern in Genesis set forth by the Lord in creation. After Christ’s ascension, the early church celebrated the Sabbath on Sunday, rather than Saturday, to celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the grave.
“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 2:2-3
God made everything in Creation and rested on the 7th day. Later, as God lovingly and purposefully set up the way in which the Israelites would conduct themselves as His chosen people, He says;
“You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.” Exodus 31:14-15
Israel was to take, very seriously, the keeping of a HOLY Sabbath, setting that time aside and spending it with Him.
Historically, Sunday’s rest has meant the cessation of work, a very intentional, physical rest. Generally this is still accepted even in Christendom, today.
It is still important to God that we keep the Sabbath holy, but I am convinced that, beyond our ignorance of knowing how to actually do that, we, as the people of God, often just accept it as an optional, antiquated, or even unnecessary practice.
Jesus in, Mark 2:27, says this about the Sabbath: “And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” So, resting on the sabbath is still important, but the mandate is not there for us to meet some sort of requirement God has for the Sabbath, but rather, it is something built into the week that God uses to graciously meet OUR needs.
The Sabbath is there for us to connect with God our Father. He is the only sustaining source of peace and rest in our lives and we need, in greater measure….(that is, at least once a week) the time to engage with Him in a focused way. The Sabbath is meant to be a needed blessing to us!
The Sabbath rest, though FOR us, is not about resting in a way that is ABOUT us.
“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
Resting on Sunday comes by being attentive first, and foremost, to God. So, ask Him how He wants you to spend that time.
I can imagine that it will involve engaging in corporate worship somewhere with a local body, because that is biblical, but it also might be a day to turn the tv off and take a walk with Him. It may have an element of work or fun! However He leads you to use that time, spiritual disciplines will likely be the foundation, but in the end, His worship and presence is the goal. The Sabbath is very much like a fast, in that, we are setting aside the typical work and activity of our week to focus more completely on our Savior.
In the last few days, I have written specifically about the spiritual rest that is available to us now and the eternal rest that awaits us in heaven. While I have acknowledged the importance of physical rest in this week’s blog I will maintain that there are many more kinds of rest that effectively also touch and effect our physical rest. We are both flesh and spirit, are we not? Because of our religious histories and understanding I have also chosen this day to address the importance of the purpose for our resting. Christ is Lord over the Sabbath!
