Working to Work or Working To Rest: Examining Sabbath

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or any day. When do you celebrate sabbath?

What does it mean to remember the Sabbath Day? For some it is only celebrated on a specific day of the week. Others might say that it can only be celebrated by attending church. And some consider it sitting in a La-Z-Boy and watching football.

Since God was the one who created the Sabbath, perhaps His idea of it would be best to follow. The words of Isaiah paint a great picture of what the Sabbath is to be. In this passage he is teaching the Israelites the importance of being obedient and the wisdom that comes from keeping God’s commands. 

Isaiah 58"If because of the Sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD.”

In the beginning God works for six days and then He rests. In our busy lives many adults find themselves working to work more or working just to survive. Many teens find activities like sports practices, school work, or music recitals filling up their weekends. In each of those scenarios there is no time to take a break. God, on the other hand worked to rest. God saw that His creation was SO good that He rested in it. He enjoyed the fruits of His labor and celebrated all that He had done by dwelling in the cosmos that He had created.

Working to rest and to celebrate -- what a great idea! 

Are you good at taking a Sabbath? Comment below and continue the discussion...

This post was written by Colin Heasley. Colin leads an Axis Team around the country helping students and their communities move from apathy to compassionate action. You can follow the Axis Teams on Twitter: @axisteams