This post is the final in the slow series on our summer of Sabbath rest. In it, I want to address the “why not?” of Sabbath. For all the benefits of the Sabbath, most of us will not actually engage in the practice of rest. I am sure the reasons are many, but I want to share two here:
First, we are afraid of stopping. Our identity is tied up in what we do. Want to know how much? Try going to a gather and never ask a person what they do and never say what you do. It is nearly impossible. Not being identified with our work causes us to feel lost and useless. Sabbath will confront your very sense of who you are and what you find your value in. Most of us, myself included, do not want to go there. Sabbath is not productive. We fear we are missing out. We fear we will be accused of being lazy or failing to carry out our responsibilities.
Second, fear of legalism. Certainly, there are many stories of excess rules and structures of the past. When children were not allowed to play and joy was looked upon with disdain. We are right to be apprehensive, but let us not avoid one excess by going to another excess that never stops, never delights in God and his good gifts to humanity. If your Sabbath has become a burden then it is time to change your Sabbath. Sabbath is a day to celebrate the abundance of God. A day filled with joy, laughter, beauty, rest, love, and delight. Jesus, says to come to him like a child. There is something winsome and childlike about the Sabbath. Jesus said the Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. The Sabbath is God’s holy gift to humanity. It is a means of expressing his continual love and provision to each one of us. Sabbath is the invitation to be with God.
Blessings,
Stephen