Does God really mean for us to take the Sabbath off as in no work–no cooking, cleaning, going to the office, writing a letter to a friend?
I find the term Sabbath confusing since it is a commandment (Ex 20:10) after all. What exactly does “rest” mean.
If we look at the New Testament, and Mark 3 in particular (the man with the shriveled hand), we see that Jesus “worked” on the Sabbath. He didn’t have to heal that man on Sunday if He wanted to make a point of resting on the Sabbath. The situation was not life or death. Jesus could have waited until Monday to heal the man. On the flip side, Mark 3:4 states that Jesus even addressed the issue of the Sabbath.
Should we allow others to judge us if we are not “resting” on the Sabbath? No! Col 2:16 tells us not to let others judge us about a number of things, including the Sabbath.
My take on the Sabbath? Personally, a believer should endeavor to do eternal works every day of the week, not just Sunday. The acronym JOY comes to mind (Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last). If we strive to follow JOY, then over time our works will fall in line.
Is the Sabbath a day of rest? It doesn’t have to be, but God loves us enough to know that we need time off to reflect and to physically and spiritually rejuvenate.
[[Photo by hornkl.]]