Sabbath. The concept which is referenced in the Ten Commandments. The premise upon which God himself operated when creating Creation. You know...the one which is outdated, out-of-fashion, irrelevant, not cultural.
This is a nice little thought provoker I recently ran across. Ponder it a second before you hurry on to the next...thing.
If there is no Sabbath- no regular and commanded not-working, not-talking — we soon become totally absorbed in what we are doing and saying, and God’s work is either forgotten or marginalized. When we work we are most god-like, which means that it is in our work that it is easier to develop god-pretensions. Un-sabbathed, our work becomes the entire context in which we define our lives. We lose God-consciousness, God-awareness, sightings of resurrection. We lose the capacity to sing “this is my fathers world” and end up chirping little self-centred ditties about what we are doing and feeling.
The Most difficult command to keep, a most difficult practice to cultivate. It is one of the most abused and distorted practices of the Christians life. Many through the centuries have suffered much under oppressive Sabbath regimes. And more than a few of us have been among the oppressors.
"Sabbath is not about time off or a break in routine. It is not a mini-vacation to give us a respite so we are better prepared to go back to work. The Sabbath is far more than a diversion; it is meant to be an encounter with God's delight." ~~Dan Allender
ReplyDeleteI LOVE both of those quotations. I also like this one: "Biblical Sabbath-keeping is an act of trust, a recognition that we can cease our labors for one day a week and the world will not come crashing down around us. It is a reminder that we are small and limited, but God is infinitely big. Keeping Sabbath is a way to affirm that our lives depend not on our own efforts and strivings but rather on God's grace and care."
ReplyDeleteFinessa said...
ReplyDeleteGod rested after six days of creation. We can rest every time we yield to His Holy Spirit. Our sabbath can be times when we cease from works and rest in Him. Do not restrict it to one day but find time for sabbath every day. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: