At the pool Sunday evening, one of my sons asked me about the Sabbath. He had read a story in which the children were not even allowed to play on Sunday lest they fail to keep the 4th commandment. Clearly that’s over top, isn’t it? I had some stock answers on hand but am never satisfied with those. Typically such are born out of twisting doctrine to fit the American lifestyle. I remembered some notes from our Middle School pastor’s teaching on this a couple years ago:
The Lord commanded rest on the 7th day. Rest means trusting God that He has everything under control. Rest means not providing for myself or my family (i.e. collecting manna) because God has sovereign control over everything and will provide.
Will I trust Him? Can I trust Him? It seems that I’m pulling oxen out of the ditch 7 days a week. Helping to fold clothes, putting kids in bed, cleaning the kitchen, sorting out bills, post-adoption paperwork, cleaning the kitchen again, counseling an erring child, repairing some piece of the house, sorting out details for school …. We invariably head to bed late with urgent matters still unfinished.
I’ve chosen to continue managing these details on Sundays for a variety of reasons but thanks to my inquisitive son, I must now reconsider. Can I afford to rest and let the urgent slide? Can I trust God to take care of these things?
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
– Jesus. Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)
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