Our world is tired. As a society, we run ourselves to the edge of burnout in the name of “success” and “progress” and “industry”. But have we ever stepped back for one moment and asked “What is all this for?” Why are we running ourselves to death? Why are we putting ourselves through this? Is all of this busyness, stress, anxiety, and rushing around really bringing progress and if so, is this so called “progress” benefiting our relationships, communities, and world?
It seems that God has woven deep within the cycles of creation the need for rest. As each season changes we are reminded of this reality. Yes there is spring and summer which bring an active productivity but there is also autumn and winter. These seasons bring dormancy … Sabbath. It is actually these seasons of rest that bring productivity in the warmer months.
Creation works from its rest.
Which begs the question:
“Do we work from our rest?”
God understands humanity’s ability to consume resources at a rapid pace … He understands that if not given instruction to rest, we will continue to wear ourselves past the healthy point. And we are now seeing the fruits of that in our nation. We are fortunate if we have opportunities for a weekend off, or maternity leave, or vacation time, or even sick time. And yet without these times of rest and renewal …
We will break.
Our families, our health, our safety, our relationships, and our spirituality all suffer when we lack time for renewal.
Deep within the story of creation in Genesis, we see that God worked. He performed His creative action during the spatial and chronological time of that first week. But when that week ended, what did He do?
God rested…
Not because He had to or because He was so exhausted He could no longer work. No. He demonstrates that renewal is interwoven into creation itself and it is essential for life.
In Exodus 20, God gives Moses the commandments. Within these commandments, there is this resurfacing of Sabbath… not as a legalistic observance or one more thing on the spiritual “to do” list. No…
Sabbath is living in tune with our place in God’s created community. It is living as an image bearer of God.
There has arisen this idea within American Christianity that Sabbath is obsolete, that it was done away with. Maybe there are certain elements of the laws which governed the observance that are no longer to be upheld. And yes, Jesus confronted abuses to the teaching of Sabbath (ex. Matthew 12.1-14). But to think that Sabbath is no longer relevant or important to disciples of Christ is absurd. One theologian and author put it this way:
It seems that Sabbath has fallen out of favor, less because of some Scriptural interpretation, and more because it does not fit into our busy schedules. Put simply…
Sabbath is inconvenient.
Maybe that is why one author suggests that Sabbath is a new form of “cultural resistance”. It is difficult to carve out time in our workaholic culture for rest, renewal, and worship.
And yet, this is exactly what we need … for our relationship with God, for our families, for the creation.
We need to reclaim this time of renewal.
The Bible also takes the idea of Sabbath further than just one day a week. It talks about rest for animals and land … rest for those in debt to others.
If we reclaimed Sabbath as an intentional time of restoration for focus and responsibility to our neighbor and to creation, what kind of cultural revolution might we see?
So how can we begin to reimagine this in our own lives?
These are just a few suggestions to begin this process of reclaiming Sabbath:
As individuals: Schedule your week around a day of renewal and worship
As individuals: Work from your rest
As individuals: Make time once a quarter for a family retreat
In business: Make intentional seasons to slow down
In business: Apply Sabbath to create ethical and sustainable agricultural practices
In business: Rethink management practices and personal time for employees
My prayer is that we can find liberation from our shallow, overworked, and burned out culture through the transformative power of God’s precepts. May you find peace, rest, and renewal as you seek to find Sabbath in your own life.