How are you? How is your week going? Are you looking forward to the Sabbath?
When I was in high school, I would dread Mondays and would look forward to the weekends so much. I would be so giddy on Thursday night, because I knew that Friday would come in the morning. Friday signified the start of freedom, fun, and rest.
The Bible tells us that this should describe our anticipation for the Sabbath every week. It is our day of rest, and the fourth commandment calls us to keep it holy. It is the last commandment of the “Love God” section of the Ten Commandments. Keeping the Sabbath day holy is a way we love God.
We are called to cease our work and rest in worship. It is in our created order to work, since we have been made in the image of God, a worker. At the same time, it is in our created order to rest on the Sabbath.
But this does not mean that we stop all activity on the Lord’s Day. It means that we engage in the act of worship and service. This is where we find true rest for our souls. It’s where we receive the REM sleep rest for our souls.
This rest is only found in Christ. It’s to know that we don’t have to work everyday as a slave for our identity and worth, because He has finished the work of salvation. His finished work in His life, death, and resurrection gives us our worth and identity.
We can rest in this finished work. We can rest in Christ, because He was completely restless on the cross as He took on the judgment for our sin.
New Life, let us keep the Sabbath day holy in rest through worship. Let us truly rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And may this rest give us the peace we need and help us to truly love God.
Let me close with an illustration given by Dr. Philip Ryken for your reflection this week:
Dr. Robert Rayburn once told the story of a man who was approached by a beggar on the street. The man reached into his pocket to see what he had. Finding seven dollars and feeling somewhat sorry for the beggar, he held out six bills and said, “Here you go.” Not only did the beggar take the six dollars, but with his other hand he struck his benefactor across the face and grabbed the seventh dollar too.
What do you think of the beggar? Don’t you think he was a scoundrel? Then what do you think of a sinner, saved by the grace of Jesus Christ, who insists on taking seven days a week- or even six and a half- for himself? The way to avoid this scandal is to remember the Lord’s Day by keeping it holy.
Let’s look forward to our Sabbath rest on this Sunday through Lord’s Day Worship. Pray for one another.
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Photo Credit: http://www.wmky.org/post/junior-williamson-rest-area-mountain-parkway-powell-county-reopen-thursday-nov-16