Perhaps at no time in history has the temptation to overwork been greater than it is today. We live in a 24/7 world. Today’s communication technology (cell phones,
text messaging, mobile devices, email) have made it possible and sometimes even expected that we will be available for work 24/7.
But the truth is we were not created to work around the clock! We were created in the image of God—and even God stopped to rest on the seventh day. God stopped to rest to enjoy all that He had created.
In fact, God thought that Sabbath is so important that it is one of the 10 Commandments. It’s interesting that the third commandment has the longest explanation of any of the commandments. “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Six days you will labor but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord.” The Hebrew word “Sabbath” means rest. The gift of Sabbath, a day of rest, is given by God so that we will rest to spend time with God, to rest to take care of our bodies, our health, to take time to appreciate God and His creation and the people we love in our lives.
Sabbath rest is not just about slowing down or clearing our schedules. It is about setting the right priorities for our time. If we say that our faith and our relationship with God is top priority in our lives, then our schedule should reflect that. If we say that our family is the most important thing in our lives, then spending time with our family should be a priority.
Several years ago, I asked a potter to make a new bowl for our Baptismal font. The potter worked with clay and “hand throws” her work. It was really interesting to watch her throw some clay. She took a lump of clay and plopped it onto her wheel, only to look at it carefully and then take it off again. She did this several times. Finally, I asked her why she kept plopping the clay on her wheel and then picking it up again. She told me something quite profound: “If the clay isn’t centered right, no matter what you do, it won’t work. Centering the clay is the single most important part of my work.”
Sabbath rest, is a gift from God to help us “center our lives.” We were not created by God to work 24/7. It is in the quietness, the solitude, the stillness that God so often speaks to us. It is in the quiet spaces that we reconnect and nurture the relationships with those we love. It is slowing down and really seeing God’s creation that we appreciate the Creator. It is in honoring Sabbath—in resting—that we are truly centered and grounded in our identity as children of God. It is in the quiet times and places that we are refilled and renewed for our life’s mission.
Life is a precious gift and it is indeed too short to work all the time. Centering our life—like centering the clay is the most important thing we can do to make the most of the gift of life we’ve been given. (PASTOR BRENT CAMPBELL)