We have seen this week that Sabbath rest is something given by God at creation, and remains part of his continuing commands to Israel to celebrate their freedom in him.
Over time, however, the Sabbath became much more than what God had simply commanded – as people developed many more regulations defining what entailed work or rest. Surely their intentions were good, to maintain a healthy respect for God’s laws, but these regulations were able to eclipse the purpose and personality behind the law.
We’ll see next week how Jesus dealt with these regulations. This has major implications for Christians…as people have long sought to understand how Sabbath laws apply after Jesus. Should Christians rest on Saturday, Sunday, or simply a day a week? Can certain kinds of jobs be done on the day of rest? Can I cut the grass? Can I shop, even though it means someone else works? These are common questions, but even if we disagree, the basic premise remains – God has a rhythm to life, it’s his rhythm, and it’s meant for us as well.
But how many of us have honestly tried it, instead of simply arguing about it?
Our rhythm is usually not one day of rest every six, but comes in weeks – we work, work, work and then rest hard. This is why so many people get sick on vacation! Or we can work, work, work for decades, then retire and finally rest. There is a window of time after retirement that many men are known to get heart attacks, due to the major shock to their systems and lifestyles. The message in this way of life is that we are slaves to work, and can run away once in a while. Or earn our emancipation at retirement. This isn’t what we were made for.
We’ll see next week that our emancipation from slavery has been bought by someone else – we are not slaves to this world’s economy.
Challenge: Try and take a day of complete rest this week. Not your usual creative work (Tuesday) but either put your feet up, or do other kinds of work/play.
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This week, we're looking at foundatinos in life.
Jesus spoke to this in his conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount which we've been exploring. This is our second last week on this theme!
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV)
Truth 1: We all build on something in life, and that makes all the difference.
Both guys in this story want the same thing – a house. And they build one.
What’s different is location, location, location.
Just for fun, I recently toured an open house that’s double the price of my own. The house has some premium finishes, sure, but not enough marble and granite to double the price. The price difference was because of the location…the land is what’s most valuable.
Are you happy with where you're building life? We build on all kinds of things: Career, Kids, Sexuality, Power, Control, etc.
We can build some beautiful homes on those foundations, but it's all for nothing if the foundation crumbles and all that beauty falls down.
The foundation in life is the number one decision, upon which all other decisions are dependent. If your foundation decision is about debt reduction, then you'll sacrifice other things to pay down a loan. If it's your kids, then you'll sacrifice travel and independence. These are just examples, of how the foundation impacts other areas of life.
Question: What do you think is the difference between a sand and rock foundation in life? Give some examples.
