Living From a Place of Rest: Sabbathናሙና

On the Sabbath We Come Together as a Community

As we have seen over the last few days, Sabbath is a gift from God that creates space and time in His presence. With no agenda, nothing to accomplish, purchase or maintain, we are free to reflect on where God is currently working in our hearts. However, although it is essential to carve out time in solitude and silence with God on the Sabbath, the Sabbath was never meant to be practiced in complete isolation.

The author of Hebrews encourages us to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another." (Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬)‬‬ Face-to-face we have the opportunity to look deep into the eyes of another soul. To see what is going on below the surface. To notice a friend's body language that may be projecting a very different message than the words being spoken. On the Sabbath, we come together as a community of believers, free to share the highs and lows of our week.

As an apprentice of Jesus, our highest calling is to love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbors as ourselves (see Matthew 22:36-40). But love is messy and often requires great sacrifice to our plans. The opportunity to love our neighbor well rarely presents itself at a time that conveniently fits into our predefined schedule. And that is the beauty of the Sabbath; it creates a "space in time when the pace is slow and family and friends linger with one another, savoring one another's presence because no one has anywhere else to go (Ruth Haley Barton).”

Truth be told, the Sabbath changes a person from the inside out. On the Sabbath, I am a more loving husband, patient father, and generous neighbor. But when we go weeks or months without the regular rhythm of work and rest every seven days, we lack the physical, mental, and emotional strength to live into the fruit of the Spirit that Paul spoke about in his letter to the church at Galatia (see Galatians 5:22-23).

On the Sabbath, we receive the gift of rest from God and, in turn, have the opportunity to bless others with the gift of our presence, our full and uninterrupted attention. Oh, how rarely in our modern digital culture does anyone truly receive the full attention of another.

Tomorrow we will conclude this reading plan on the Sabbath as we focus on how to observe the Sabbath in our everyday lives practically.