Sacred Days of Sabbath

If there’s one thing Jordan Raynor isn’t, it’s lazy. As an author, podcast host, and serial entrepreneur, he prizes productivity, discipline, and time management. (So much so that he’s written a book on the topic!) But for Jordan, life isn’t about simply accomplishing as much as possible. It’s about knowing Jesus, following him anywhere he leads, and sharing his love with this broken, hurting world.

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Sabbath.

For years, I viewed the Sabbath as a day filled with things I couldn’t do rather than a day filled with joyful things I could do. But then, about four years ago, in the middle of a particularly crazy season of life, I re-read what Jesus himself said about the Sabbath, and it totally changed my perspective. In Mark 2, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

That changed my life. I started to see that the Sabbath isn't just a day for ceasing, it is also a day for feasting.

Here’s what that looks like for our young family. Once we’ve prepared for the Sabbath and ceased from all productive things on Saturday night, we light a candle to visually mark our transition into a time of rest. This ensures that, in the words of my kids, it “smells like Sabbath” (and pumpkin pecan waffles) for 24 glorious hours. Once the candle is lit, we feast on takeout from one of our favorite restaurants, followed by some sort of epic dessert.

On Sunday morning, I wake up at my normal time to spend time in the Word and in prayer. Once the kids are up, I allow them to indulge in two Sabbath-only treats: A hot cup of coffee and a full-length movie. My wife feasts on sleep while I watch Tangled with the kids for the 80th time.

After that, we head to our favorite doughnut shop in town and share what we’re most thankful for from the past week. With doughnuts and Cuban breakfast sandwiches in hand, we head back home with plenty of time to get ready for church, where we feast on the Word with our church family.

After church, Sabbath afternoons are usually pretty lowkey: Lunch, naps, my wife and I getting lost in a great book. After nap time, we may go to the beach or a park, or my wife and I might go on a date. But most Sundays, we’re just hanging around the house, playing games, swimming in the pool, running around the backyard, drinking an amazing craft beer. After dinner on Sunday, we blow out the candle, pack lunches for school, and get ready for Monday, our souls filled and ready for the week ahead.

But at the end of the day, the Sabbath isn’t ultimately about what we eat or do. It’s a holy, sacred day to focus on the fact that Jesus is our ultimate Sabbath.

—Jordan Raynor, the executive chairman of the venture-backed tech startup Threshold 360, as told to Rapt Interviews

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