Sabbath

A few weeks ago, we looked at the 10 commandments listed in Exodus 20. The fourth commandment calls us to keep the Sabbath. Ever since the Creation account in Genesis, God practiced and modeled how to keep the Sabbath. So, how should we keep the Sabbath? In his book, “The Rest of God,” Mark Buchanan says, “When I use the word Sabbath, I mean two things. I mean a day, the seventh day in particular … I also mean an attitude. It is a perspective, an orientation. I mean a Sabbath heart, not just a Sabbath day. A Sabbath heart is restful … and attentive to the presence of God and others even in the welter of much coming and going, rising and falling” (p. 4). I really like what Buchanan is saying here — Sabbath begins with our heart. It is an attitude. When we are aware of God’s presence, it would not matter if we were in the midst of a turbulent storm. Whether our lives are literally falling apart or not, we can remain peaceful and sleep through the storm. One good litmus test we can take on rest and Sabbath is answering this simple question: “Have you stopped caring about the things you care about?” If your answer is “yes,” then you are probably too busy and have not fully rested in God. One of the marks of being a child of God is that we are rested. Let’s begin today with the attitude of rest. It is perfectly fine to disconnect from our devices, media, and the world by connecting to God. Let us empty ourselves so that we can be filled. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Exodus 20:8).