It’s over. The $300,000 commercials are being dissected. The halftime show that delighted and disappointed (A ‘who cares’ shrug from me) will be discussed terminally today. The men who strained to win a championship for the season will be taking pain-killers and either celebrating their triumph or regretting their stumbles. We all go back to work and life goes on. It was fun, wasn’t it? The anticipation, the jokes and jabs, the gatherings for the party. Events that allow us to break up the tedium of life keep us from turning into joyless drones. And that’s a good thing!
God likes celebration, too. Did you realize that? He inspired Moses to create a calendar for His people that included multiple holy days. It was the holy days in the calendar that caused the work to stop, that made a break. The Lord knew that we would tend to worship our work and play at our worship so, from the very beginning, He asked for one day in seven to be set aside as holy, a regular holiday break. The 4th commandment says: “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you." (Exodus 20:8-10, NLT) Our modern word ‘holiday’ is derived from ‘holy day.’
I am convinced that the New Covenant in Christ releases us from an obligatory observance of the Sabbath. Romans 14 is clear that every day is holy to the Lord, and yet we who are disciples of Christ need to remember the gift of the holy day, the importance of breaking into our work for renewal, for worship, to gather with other disciples for focused and intentional worship. The Sabbath principle survives in God’s plan for His holy people. From the 2nd decade of Christianity, the “Lord’s Day” was celebrated by gathering of Believers for worship and the ‘love feast’ and instruction in the Scripture. The Word strongly directs us to keep the practice, for our own good. "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, NLT)
Few spiritual principles are more widely disregarded by 21st century American Christians than the principle of a day each week given to worship and God. The “Lord’s Day” has become, at best for many, “the Lord’s hour or two.” The day off from the factory or office turns into a day to shop, fix the car, do the laundry, get groceries … almost everything but rest and worship. And, we are poorer for our rejection of His gift of a holy day. We justify our neglect of our souls by pointing to the many responsibilities of our daily lives, and in so doing we are like the money manager who is penny-wise and dollar-foolish. Unless we are willing to put God first, we will never discover the order for life; the increased productivity He can provide when we live in His promised rest.
Disciple, honor the Lord with your time. Recover the principle of taking a day for worship and rest, a day devoted to celebrating His goodness. It’s not a practice that needs to be a dull duty. It’s a celebration of the goodness of our God, a reminder that He owns us, that He cares for us, and that we are eternal beings first, creatures of this present world second. Push gathering for worship to the top of your list of priorities and discipline yourself to spend the balance of your ‘holy day’ in hospitality, in service to your King, in renewal of the spirit by intentional pursuit of the Presence of the Lord.
The weekly holy-day is His gift. Receive it with joy.
Here’s a word from the Word. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you insight as to the application of the principle to your Christian life.
“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day,
but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day.
Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day,
and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.
Then the Lord will be your delight.
I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 58:13-14, NLT)
No comments:
Post a Comment