Sabbath…a true gift from God. Time to rest, to renew, to restore…time to REcreate. Given by God to the Israelites after 400 years enslaved to the Pharaoh in Egypt. They had been living “on the hamster wheel,” unable to stop and rest because there were quotas to keep or they would be punished. And so they worked and worked and worked. Productivity, activity and efficiency were the words of the day.
But even God had rested on the last day of creation. Even God knew it was important to do your work and then take time to step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Even Jesus knew that it was important to take time and retreat for prayer and worship and fellowship with friends and time for joy and play.
And so we have Sabbath.
Sabbath is a part of the very cycle of creation – six days then one, six days then one, six days then one. It is a part of the rhythm of life.
In our modern world, sometimes Sabbath is still six days of work and one day of rest. For many it is a five and two rhythm. And sometimes we have seasons of Sabbath – vacation time, summer breaks, or holidays. Whatever it is, deep in our hearts we know that we need Sabbath. We need time to step back from the world – retreat – into our own spaces where we can plug into the divine and refuel the way a battery recharges when plugged into its source.
We seek nature. We play. We read. We pray. We spend time with family and friends. We take time to ourselves. We sleep. We don’t set alarms. We go at our own pace. We have no agenda. AND, I hope, we still worship.
