Resting?

Ex.20: ⁸ “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ You have six days each week for your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God…”

Traditionally, the Sabbath day falls on a Saturday. This is the reason the Jews still go to the synagogue on Saturday. But the early church moved their day of worship to Sunday in honour of Christ’s resurrection and the headship of Jesus.

Sunday became the new Sabbath for the early church – the day of rest. However, Sunday for the early church was not a work free day. So, they would attend church as early as four o’ clock in the morning, go to work and then come back to church in the evening – amazing! About three hundred years after Christ, Constantine, the Roman Emperor made Sunday a work free day because he wanted to be associated with the Church.

Our focus, however, is on the principle of Sabbath which is, God wants you to have a day of rest. For a season of our lives while we were growing up, we had to fetch water for the house. For us, fetching water was an adventure. We are very competitive in my family and, so you can imagine the kind of games we would engage in. From balancing acts to first to get home without spilling a drop of water; and we would fill our buckets to the brim. Every step you take is one step away from disaster because anything can happen. I am sure you can imagine what that was like. We often got into trouble for coming home late, wet and you name it.

Just like the bucket filled to the brim, a lot of us have filled our lives and time so much that there is no leverage, no room for turbulence, or adjustment. We are literarily one step away from disaster. People are too busy to be in church and too busy to serve God freely. No time for family; some people just cannot sit on the floor and play games with their children. This battle against time is one of the greatest battles of man in the modern day life. However, God is clear in His Word, in the fourth commandment. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ You have six days each week for your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God…” When was the last time you rested?

Prayer: Lord, You give rest to Your beloved and because I am Your beloved, I will find rest for my soul, in Jesus Name. Amen!