Good Morning Friends,
“By the seventh day God had finished the work
he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God
blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the
work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2-3)
In this passage God established the principle
of the Sabbath rest. For the Jews during the Old Testament era this principle
was enforced as a law of God. It’s importance was emphasized by the fact that
it was included as one of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:8-11)
The law of the Sabbath was abolished in the
New Testament – the only one of the Ten Commandments that was set aside in that
way. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with
regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These
are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in
Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) God no longer enforces the law of the Sabbath and
we are no longer to allow others to enforce that law on our lives.
But the fact that the principle of the
Sabbath is no longer enforced as a law does not mean that the principle has
been changed. The principle reflects the cycle of a balanced life that God has established.
We are to work hard – as though we are working for God and not man. But we are also
to rest regularly. A weekly day of rest is a part of the God-ordained balance
of life. It is a time to recharge our physical batteries and to connect more fully
to the Lord.
We can choose not to follow that balance –
and get by with it for a while – perhaps even for a long time. But eventually
when we allow ourselves to live a life that is out of balance it will catch up
with us. It will catch up with us physically, it will catch up with us
emotionally, it will catch up with us relationally, and it will catch up with
us spiritually.
We need time to rest, to connect, and to
reflect – that is how God created us to work.
It’s not a law – it’s a gift!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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