Breaking Sabbath…

Today, I am at home. That’s the good thing.

Today, I’m working on my sermon for this weekend. That’s the not so good thing.

What’s wrong with being at home working on a sermon? Today is my Sabbath day, a day I have set aside to rest and refresh my spirit. It’s one of the first first things we are commanded to do in the Bible. In other words, in God’s eyes, it’s a big deal.

Now, we don’t treat it like a big deal. [You're probably thinking working on a sermon at home isn't a big deal at all] For most of us, it’s just another day… A day to catch up.. A day to run some errands… a day to finish the rest of the week’s work… A day to make up for the busyness of all the other days… But that’s not how God intended it to be.

So I’m taking a few moments to confess my sin. I’m breaking Sabbath today… but let me be more specific, because my sin is deeper than simply breaking Sabbath.

My sin has been that for the last three weeks, I have not lived with “anticipation” of the Sabbath. Here’s where we really mess up God’s concept of the Sabbath. We tend to assume that the Sabbath day is designed to refresh us so that we can go back to work. That’s totally backwards. God designed the Sabbath for us to rest from work. [Even from the thought of working]

It is not a day to recharge for more work.

It is a gift that God gives that is meant to be enjoyed as simply that, a gift.

My sin is that I have not lived in anticipation of the Sabbath.

So today, I’m paying the price for that. I’m doing the work today that I should have done yesterday or the day before. I’m catching up because I didn’t do what I should have done earlier in the week in order to free myself to experience God’s gift of Sabbath.

I’ve missed God’s gift for me this week. So today, I’m committing to make sure I don’t miss that gift again.

[end of confession]

Categories: Healthy Living