You’re probably already aware that the Genesis account of creation tells us that God rested on the seventh day, but have you realised that God actually blessed it, and made it ‘holy’ (Genesis 2:3)? God blessed humanity, and some of the animals too, but didn’t call us holy. So the seventh day is clearly something important.
Holy doesn’t necessarily mean sombre or sacred, it can also mean separate or special. The first thing God called special was a day off! That says something about the significance of taking a regular day off. You may know of the importance that the Jewish people have historically attached to their Sabbath, and while it has become somewhat rule-encrusted (as you will find if you ever go to Israel and get in a lift on the Sabbath – it stops on every floor so you don’t have to ‘work’ by pressing the button!) the traditional Jewish celebration of God, the Word and family is a good way to focus on what is really important in our lives. Many Christians who have followed their example and tried to avoid work, shopping, DIY and other leisure activities on the Sabbath have discovered the blessing of a complete day of rest.
Of course, many Christians in ministry are not able to take their Sabbath on Friday/Saturday/Sunday as they are often ministering in church. They may try to take a day off in lieu during the week, but this doesn’t always work so well as children are in school, colleagues who are still at work make phone calls, church members have needs and the general temptation to shop, catch up on emails or do the housework can eat away at that precious time with God and family.
Many of us, of course, believe that every day is Sabbath, in the sense that it is a day dedicated for serving God, but while it is true, this understanding has helped to undermine the sense of setting aside a day for stopping and restoring the soul. But this one day off a week, whenever we take it, is part of God’s plan to help us avoid becoming workaholics and burning out with constant striving. It is important to get rest. Recently I was involved in preparing the job description for my church’s new minister, and I wrote into it ‘You will take one complete day off each week’ because I believe that without stopping and recharging the batteries regularly, we can quickly run them down.
God, of course, did not need to recuperate from creating the entire universe. The Hebrew word Shabbat from which we get ‘Sabbath’ implies sitting, being still, or stopping. We might easily in modern language say ‘chill’. I can just imagine God and Adam, lying on recliners by a pond somewhere, having a drink together and chatting. Some gentle hanging out together. We should remember that Adam was created on the sixth day of the week, and on the seventh, like God, he chilled. Adam’s first day on the job was a day off! The result was that he started his work rested and refreshed. He didn’t need the Sabbath to recuperate from the previous week; he had it to prepare for the coming one.
Which is why our ministry works best if it flows from our place of rest rather than drives us to it.
