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Sunday 3 February 2013

Spiritual Disciplines 1: Observing the Sabbath


During my childhood years in England in the 1960s, many families went to church on Sundays. Shops were closed. Sporting fixtures were never held. Some of my friends were not allowed to visit on a Sunday. There was a universal solemnity and large baked dinners with Yorkshire pudding.  

I don’t necessarily agree with a legalistic view of what you can and can’t do on a Sunday, but I do believe that observing Sunday or every seventh day is a principle which honours God and is beneficial to humans.
Genesis tells us that God created the world and everything in it in six days. He saw that it was all good. Then, on the seventh day, He rested. “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that He had done” (Genesis 2:2).
This principle of resting on the seventh day was enshrined by God in the fourth of the ten commandments : “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labour and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 5:12)
This is perhaps the only one of the ten commandments which is currently disputed as to whether it still applies. Paul does tell us in Colossians 2:16 “Then never let anyone criticize you for what you eat or drink, or about observance of annual festivals, New Moons or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what was coming: the reality is the body of Christ.”
Jesus, in His earthy ministry placed a different perspective on the Sabbath, decrying the religious dos and don’ts of the Pharisees. He healed on the Sabbath. Jesus however states that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27). By these words I infer that observance of the Sabbath is not an onerous duty but a blessing. The writer of Hebrews refers to the principle of entering God’s rest- a state of comfort and ease as we depend upon God, even if our earthly circumstances are extremely trying. Observing the Sabbath in this case is almost an outward sign of this: “There must still be, therefore, a seventh-day rest reserved for God's people, since to enter the place of rest is to rest after your work, as God did after His” (Heb 4:9-10).
Sunday is the day of the week in which Christians meet together to share fellowship in our church congregations. I personally have found that by setting aside one day in which I rest, attend church, have time for social activities with friends or time for gardening, reading, walking or other things that I enjoy provides great renewal for the week ahead. Throughout my college years I did not study or do assignments on Sundays, with no ill effects. I think our society has lost much by permitting Sunday trading, and I personally try not to shop on a Sunday. I find that because I don’t do household chores- cleaning, washing and ironing etc. on Sundays, I’m far more disciplined to do these things earlier in the week and have them completed on Saturday, so I’m more responsible with time management and actually create leisure time for myself. It becomes an established pattern to work hard, and then rest and enjoy.
My I encourage you, if you find that life is increasingly non-stop work and stress, to try the pattern of observing the Sabbath. Take time out one day in seven to rejoice in God and all His wonderful works and blessings, rest, refresh and be renewed.

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