Growing up I memorized The Ten Commandments. They seemed pretty straight forward – don’t kill, don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t worship idols. Maybe it was just me, but I tended to skip over one.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
I think I assumed this commandment didn’t apply to me. After all, we are under grace now, not the law, right?
In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul reminds us clearly that we are not under the law, bound to rules and regulations, but under grace. Christ fulfilled the law perfectly – the law that we had no hope to keep. His perfection is now offered to us through salvation. However, as believers today, The Ten Commandments are still incredibly applicable to our walk. So what’s the deal with this commandment?
David Guzik gives three purposes of the law for us today:
- It is a guardrail, keeping humanity on a moral path.
- It is a mirror, showing us our moral failure and need for a savior.
- It is a guide, showing us the heart and desire of God for His people.
God has chosen to communicate with us through words – words matter. More words are given to this commandment than any other. This gives us a clue that it is important and should not be brushed aside.
So using the Word of God has a guide and mirror in our lives, what should we do with the fourth commandment? Should we observe a sabbath? Do we bind ourselves with a legalistic set of rules to follow? Does it just mean we should go to church one day a week?
God provided an example to us in Genesis 2:3: “And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
Spiritually, Jesus is our sabbath – we can find rest in Him every day, as we discussed last week.
Practically, God knew our bodies needed rest. He designed us this way. Contrary to American norms, we are not robots, designed to be in a constant state of work. Our bodies and our minds need regular times of rest and renewal.
Growing up, I felt like the message from the pulpit was almost the complete opposite. The culture of our church pushed us to volunteer and the size of the church often meant, in order to keep ministries going, you had to volunteer in multiple positions. My perfectionist drive pushed me to willingly piled up responsibilities and expectations, but more often than not, it was done out of a spirit of duty and obligation. At times I even viewed missing church due to sickness or vacation was weak at best and ungodly at worst. Rest never factored into my thoughts or plans.
With this perspective, it is no wonder that in recent years I have been captivated by the idea of rest. Whether its ministry, work, family, sports or school – God did not design us to live of life constantly at full throttle. We need time to slow down, to be quiet, to be alone. I’m not even talking about vacations (vacation with four young kids is anything but restful!).
A time of rest would be a time to unwind, release the pressure of the day, relax our bodies and minds, connect with our loved ones and quiet the noise around us long enough to hear from God. A time of renewal, admitting that we cannot do it all on our own, positioning our hearts, minds and schedules to reflect our true source of power and strength.
Throughout Scripture God tells us to be still. Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God:”
In tithing, we give a percentage of our money to God, trusting that He can meet our needs with what we have left. What if we viewed the idea of rest and sabbath in the same way? What if we carved out time in our schedule (above and beyond daily quiet times) to allow our bodies and minds to rest? Could we trust God to multiply our remaining time to accomplish the things we needed to accomplish?
Things to ponder today given what we’ve seen in Scripture:
How often are you quiet and still? (sleeping does not count…)
How would you define rest?
Do you view rest as a need or a luxury?
Does your personal/family schedule reflect the value of rest?
Do you have a regular time each week to set aside work and allow your body and mind to rest? If not, what would it take to make time for it?