How Do You Keep the Sabbath?
How do you keep the Sabbath and how can one call it a day of “rest” or keep it the way God intended? 41, Female, NYC
Thank you for this question on the Sabbath. I believe the meaning and purpose of the Sabbath is slowly changing and losing its significance for many Christians. If you could get into a time machine and go back in time to talk with early Adventists, middle Adventists, and compare their “Sabbaths” with today’s Adventists, I believe you would clearly see the morphology of Sabbath-keeping through time.
The 7th day of the week is, indeed a busy time and a fun time. It is the end of a the week. You are tired, you have a lot of personal things to get done, and you have tons of friends to meet and hang out with. There is only so much time in one’s life in which to get everything and everyone done that is important to you. And I believe, that is the reason God gave us the Sabbath; because we are so busy to remember who God is.
The Sabbath is a reminder. It reminds us that God created the world in 6 days (Genesis 1). God as Creator, is now being challenged by science and many Christians chose theistic evolution over God’s word. The Sabbath reminds us that humanity was created on the 6th day, in the image of God Himself. Every week, the Sabbath reminds humanity of who we are and who God is. When there is no Sabbath, we forget who is our Creator. We work, we play and we go on with our lives and leave God out of the equation.
However, the Sabbath has a special place in God’s heart. The 7th day of the week is special to God. It is a day that God has marked on His calendar and awaits the coming of each Sabbath. Everywhere you look in the Bible, the Sabbath is the day of the Lord. God instructs His people to rest on the Sabbath (Exodus 16). It is humanity that is trying to reverse God’s love for the Sabbath and say that the Sabbath is not special to God. I choose to read God’s word and follow what God instructs concerning the Sabbath rather than following the advice of mankind.
Do Sabbath-keepers need to take another day off from work to physically rest? I do know many church members are tired after the Sabbath. After cooking for potluck, getting to church by 9:30 AM, morning worship, lunch for 200 people, afternoon choir practice, visitation, and sometimes evening dinner and board meetings at church, one can be quite tired after the Sabbath day is over. The Sabbath can be a long and tiresome day, full of meetings and activities. It is important not to overload the Sabbath day with so many activities as it can burden people. Many of my church members work from Sunday to Friday. The Sabbath day is quite busy for them. When can they get physical rest?
Of course, this is one example of a busy Sabbath-keeping church. I’m sure there are others who are looking for ways to spend the Sabbath, but can only find the end of their couch. It is important for us to get adequate physical rest before our bodies and minds begin to break down. I once knew a Korean shop owner who worked every single day for 7 years straight. Even Christmas and New Years was spent in the shop. No doubt, that person needed rest.
We call the Sabbath a day of “rest” because God “rested” on the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3). The word “rest” in the original Hebrew means “to cease.” Of course God does not need rest in the physical sense. But God stopped all activity, creation, and He took time to enjoy what He created, that is us, His children. Thus, God instructs us to work and play for 6 days, but on the Sabbath, God wants us to “cease” and spend time with Him (Hebrews 4:9).
How can people spend time with God? There are many different ways in many different cultures of how people commune with God on the Sabbath. Let’s look to Jesus to see a perfect model of Christian love; serve others, take joy in the love of God through fellowship, worship, praise and yes, lay down and rest. We all need to rest from our work and remember who God is (Exodus 20:4).