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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