Did you remember the Sabbath? Did you keep it holy? Did you remember to change your clock?
I’ve been reading in the early books of the Old Testament lately, with our church following the Foundations 260 reading plan. (I wrote another post about that HERE)
We all hear “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
Here is an interesting factoid from biblestudytools.com – Just as joy is more than the absence of sorrow, the Sabbath is more than cessation of labor. Resting in bed all day does not amount to a keeping of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is to be a delight and joy ( Isa 58:13 ). Noteworthy is the fact that the fourth commandment ( Exod 20:8 ) places the positive command to keep the Sabbath holy before the negative prohibition to cease working.
Yesterday was Sabbath for me.
In Sunday School, things were different. Last week a long-time member of our class passed away at age 64. We were all still in shock. Our teacher brought a rose to put on the gentleman’s chair, and brought donuts and coffee to celebrate his life and promotion to Heaven! We prayed, we cried, we laughed. Our joy WASN’T the absence of sorrow, for we truly felt sorrow. But even as we grieved, we knew that he was in Heaven, worshiping at the FEET of Jesus!
photo credit – Marion Baptist Church
In “big church” (yes, my children are adults, but I still think of the main service as “big church!” lol!), it was Upward Sunday – the day that celebrates the end of the Upward Basketball season and features a banquet after services for all the Preschool-5th grade players, their families, coaches, volunteers, etc. Because of this, evening services and activities were cancelled. We had an amazing service – our auditorium was filled with our people, young basketball players and cheerleaders and their families, and many guests. There were two overflow rooms!
Since my husband and I weren’t involved with Upward this year (except for praying!), we skipped the banquet and came home to a long afternoon.
Did I mention that Upward Sunday coincided with the time change?
By 1pm I was ready for my nap. Mind you, I get to church at 8am on Sunday morning, so I actually get up earlier on Sunday than any other day of the week.
Did I mention that the time changed – the change that makes me irritated the day of but I love the rest of the time?
So after a morning of amazing worship and fellowship with my church family, I rested.
I really rested. I wasn’t bored because I felt that I should be doing something. I wasn’t antsy. I leaned into God for a time of rest that I truly needed. I heard someone say once that sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do on a Sunday afternoon is take a nap! Could we add to that watching back-to-back episodes of “The Great British Baking Show?”
God knows we need rest. He knows because He created us. He rested on the 7th day. I can’t help but wonder, in His infinite wisdom, if God put it in the minds of whoever came up with Daylight Saving Time changing in the wee hours of Sunday morning because if we’re following His command, we will be resting anyway?
What do you think?
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