Worship in Rest


“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God." — Exodus 20:8-10a

Rest is something we don't get enough of, for the most part. With the advent of technology, we are more connected than we've ever been. I get my e-mail to my phone and, at times, have even done work on my phone. When I was on vacation, I got plenty of work done thanks to my phone, wireless Internet connections, and my laptop.

We literally never unplug. We also live chaotic lives. We work long hours. We skip meals. We wedge in sleep when we get around to it. And we bounce from activity to activity. With the advent of all this instant access, thousands of channels, and plenty to offer stimulation, our attention spans are getting shorter, too. We are an instant gratification culture. We don't have time to wait, time to waste, or time to be still.

The problem is, we need that. And when we do stop, we crash. Have you ever noticed that the most tired you feel is on vacation? That's because we're so slammed and so busy that when we finally stop, our body crashes to recover.

We are all familiar with the 10 Commandments, and we spend a lot of time focusing on what we need to do. We are weary of the things we put before God. We're weary of the things we make idols. We know that we have short comings and we need to do better. But when it comes to the fourth commandment, keeping the Sabbath, I think we gloss over it.

Some people see that as a call to go to church. We should go to church. We should worship. But that's not what the commandment is about. It's about rest. It's about taking time to recharge. It's about letting go of the cares of the world, giving it over to God, and spending a day in peace.

When I went on my honeymoon last summer, we went on an Alaskan cruise. Because we were in International waters, my phone couldn't get signal. So, for seven days, my phone was in airplane mode. I was cut off from my phone, TV, and the Internet. It was a getaway. And you know what — I didn't miss it. It was a time of rest, relaxation, and truly getting away.

It shouldn't take a vacation to achieve that. We are commanded to take that time of rest each week. It's what we need to maintain our health and routine. But often we don't do it. We spend a lot of time focusing on the other nine commandments, but keeping the Sabbath is just as important. Maybe it's time we start living that way.

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