The Need for Sabbath

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:12-13).

Last summer, I committed to preparing a devotion on Sabbath keeping each Friday. Since, it’s popular topic these days, I have gathered enough resources to stimulate my thoughts for several years worth of Fridays. But sometimes I wonder if I was correct in discerning the need for extended treatment on this discipline.

When I refer to Sabbath keeping, I am thinking about more than some sort of Sunday observance, including attending a Christian worship service, even though these things are almost always beneficial. Sabbath keeping is a deeper and richer theme which reaches back to the creation story before the fall and forward to the return of Christ when all evil will be eradicated from God’s realm. It refers to lives governed by a deep trust in God’s providential care. It is about people who deliberately pursue righteousness, discovering as they go that flourishing, which is so much more than material wealth, is a by product of righteousness.

Sabbath keeping involves pausing from the regular events of life to discover how unrighteous attitudes, desires and actions have been creeping into our lives. It means rooting out the ways in which our trust has moved away our God. I believe that for the Christian community to be a godly witness in our society, we must learn anew such practices. Why?

Consider that the average Canadian today enjoys a standard of living that even royalty of past ages would be jealous of. Roughly 2 000 000 millionaires populate our land. Yet, this prosperity has not led to increased enjoyment. By many measures, we are less happy than decades ago.

The result of material success appears to be the break down of families and increased loneliness. Despite some having too much, others have too little. Regularly, folks spend the night sleeping on our church property and Neighbour-2-Neighbour is helping more people, not less.

Many of us are slaves to our schedules which keep us running from morning till night leaving us stretched and stressed to the breaking point. We compile impressive resumes and accumulate so many possessions our basements, garages and closets overflow into off site storage lockers. To keep going we turn to pharmaceutical enhancers and stimulants—some legal and some not. As a culture we excel at ignoring that exhaustion, hypertension, obesity, anxiety, insomnia are signs that something is terribly wrong.

Sabbath keeping has long been the Christian antidote to this terrifying and erratic way of life. The culture we live in has lost control, if it ever had it. People are desperate to bring order to life. In this context Christians declare “that I am not my own, but belong-body and soul, in life and in death-to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ” (HC A1). Sabbath keeping is leaning into this truth and discovering that in his hands we are safe. He controls; we don’t need to. Further, we declare that our covenant God is able to provide for us “because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father” (HC A 26).

Let’s continue learning how to be Sabbath keepers in this cultural moment.

As you journey on, receive Jesus’ invitation into this rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).