Enjoy Yourself and Enjoy your Lord on the Sabbath

Luke 13

Do you ever find yourself pumping your fists as you read God’s Word?  I know, I’m a little strange, I get that.  But you have to admit verse 17 is a pretty exciting verse.  As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.  Game, set, match.  Jesus had just put the ruler of the synagogue and other present adversaries in their place as it pertains to healing on the Sabbath.  Another time when dealing with critics on the same issue he would say “man was not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man.”  He was telling them we need to be done with all the crazy rules and regulations surrounding the Sabbath.  We should still treat it as a day of rest and worship, but we don’t have to be so legalistic about it.  If someone needed healing on the Sabbath then it was a pretty good idea for Jesus to heal them. 

What do you like to do on the Sabbath?  I’m a pretty big fan of the Sunday afternoon nap.  I watch a lot of the first half of ball games, and I miss a lot of 2^nd halfs.  Some people like to get outside and work in their yards or gardens.  If that brings them a level of relaxation, then I say more power to them.  If you’re not in the practice of observing the Sabbath, then I think you’re missing the boat big time.  We all need to recharge.  It certainly doesn’t have to be a Sunday.  As a Pastor a good chunk of my Sunday is not a Sabbath, and you may have to work on Sundays too.  The important thing is to take time weekly for rest and worship. I also think we should have daily Sabbaths; maybe 15 minutes of rest and meditation on the Lord.  Be careful about doing it after lunch though or your 15 minutes could turn into something a lot longer (not like that has ever happened to me).  We should have monthly Sabbaths with a couple days off in a row, and yearly Sabbaths where we get away for legitimate restful vacations (i.e. not Disney World with young children).  This concept of practicing a Sabbath really does make us more productive the rest of the time.  If we’re remembering the intentional worship part it also draws us closer to God. It was God himself who gave us the Sabbath model, creating the world in six days and resting on the 7^th.  If it’s good enough for Him, it should be good enough for you.

Prayer

Lord I thank you for Your good example of work and rest.  May all I do be an act of worship to You; working hard, playing hard, and resting well.  Amen.