On the seventh day, when God “rested from all his work,” he set a precedent for all of us. After the initial Creation, God entered the “rest” of enjoying his handiwork. He entered into a time of dwelling in and with the work of the first six days.
The cosmos that he created was done – but that did not mean that more work would not be needed. But at that moment, God could enjoy the fruit of his labor. The construction of the temple was finished – he could now enter it and enjoy it.
We are created in the image of God the worker. And God did something from the very beginning for our benefit. He dialed into the very creation a rhythm of work and rest. God did not need to “rest,” but he did so for our sake.
In our day, we need to hear the good news about the Sabbath. We have distorted what God intended to be a good thing.
There are two extreme positions in our culture as it relates to work.
Two Distortions of Work and Rest
1. Everybody’s Working for the Weekend
The first is echoed in what the rock band Loverboy used to sing, “Everybody’s working for the weekend.” (I know, I’m showing my age!) According to this song, work is a necessary evil – it provides the paycheck that allows us to enjoy what life’s really about: Leisure! Those who declare “T.G.I.F.!” would find the biblical teaching of “thanking God for work” a strange notion. Work is only the means to the end: Friday, the weekend, fun, vacations, etc.
2. “What You Do” = “Who You Are”
Another extreme is echoed in how we ask people to introduce themselves: “So, tell me, Bill, what do you do for a living?” Our society has allowed our work to be the major way we identify ourselves. If we are not working in a prestigious position, we may feel less of ourselves. If we feel that we are not accomplishing incredible things on a daily basis in our work, our identity as a human being is somehow lessened. This leads to what we call “workaholics.” But unlike other “-aholics,” a workaholic is often admired. He or she is driven to succeed, is seen as a leader, and is often offered the promotions.
Guarding Against the Extremes
How do we guard against these two extremes? The answer is found (can you guess?) in the Bible.
Why are we to rest?
First, to remind ourselves that God is the Creator.
The Fifth Commandment is,
“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 20:8-10).
Following the example that God gave us during the Creation Week of Genesis 1, the people of God were to rest on the seventh day. But why were they to rest?
Second, to remember that God is our Deliverer.
The People of God had been in slavery in Egypt, but were saved from that bondage and brought into the Promised Land of Rest.
“Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)
The Sabbath rest not only reminded the Old Testament people of God who their creator is, but also who their savior is. Honoring the Sabbath was essential to remembering that God had delivered the Israelites from bondage. They were to take one day each week and rest, meditating on the freedom that God had provided for them.
Third, to remember to trust is God as our Provider.
The promise God gave to the Israelites was that in honoring the Sabbath they were to not find their identity in their work alone, but that they would “find their joy in the LORD” (Isaiah 58:14).
Sabbath Rest for Today’s Christian
That’s fine for the ancient Israelites, but what about today’s Christians? How do we move beyond the two extremes of either working for the weekends or finding our whole identity in our careers?
Jesus offers this wonderful promise:
“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The new kind of sabbath rest is offered in Christ, and it is not limited to the weekends. The New Testament paints the picture that since Jesus did all the work of salvation on the cross, we are able to enter God’s rest, the work has been accomplished.
“Now we who have believed enter that rest… There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for those who enter God’s rest also rest from their own work, just as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:3, 9-10)
Jesus Christ delivered us from our bondage, he did all the work on the cross. Therefore, for the Christian, the sabbath is not just limited to a Saturday off of work. It is an attitude that flows from the grace of Christ’s work on our behalf. Because we have already entered into the “rest” of being in a relationship with Jesus, our perspective is dramatically different from that of the world.
We not only take time each week to cease from our work, but we see all of life with the orientation of what Mark Buchanan, in his book, The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath (available from Hearts & Minds) calls a “Sabbath heart.” He writes,
“A Sabbath heart is restful even in the midst of unrest and upheaval. It is attentive to the presence of God and others even in the welter of much coming and going, rising and falling. It is still and knows God even when mountains fall into the sea.”
But even with this beautiful gift of rest, we still struggle in a fallen world. We must find God’s ordained rhythm for our lives that reflects the rest that we have in Christ.
In order to submit our work to the Lordship of Christ, consider these ideas:
1. Sabbath means ceasing from work. In Christ, we do not nned to seek some sort of works-righteousness. We know that in our heads, but do we know it in our hearts? We must train ourselves to cease from our frantic focus on productivity. Taking a time away from work tells God (and yourself!) that God is actually the provider, no matter how hard you work. Since the Sabbath is truly fulfilled in Jesus, I can cease from trying to prove myself to myself, to others, and even to God! Since Jesus frees me from this burden, I can enjoy doing good work – without trying to win God’s approval in doing so.
2. Sabbath means resting. The rhythm of work with rest is set in all of us. As we need to sleep each night, we also need to rest from bread-winning each week – so that we can rejuvenate our bodies, our minds, and our emotions. Not only that, we need to be refreshed and reinvigorated spiritually, so that we can be ready once again to do our work in a fallen world. We know that is often very hard work to be creative and/or redemptive in our tasks for the glory of God.
3. Sabbath means worship. We need to take time out to purposely recalibrate our lives onto the person of Jesus Christ. We need to deliberately reconnect with other believers as we worship together the Lord of our lives. As we celebrate who God is and what he has accomplished in Christ on Sunday, the effects are felt throughout the rest of the week. Corporate worship actually leads to better work.
4. Sabbath means celebration of life. Yes, we need to enjoy the goodness of all that God has given us. Rest is not only taking a lazy Sunday nap, but also playing a fun game of tag with the kids. It’s going for a hike in the state park. It’s enjoying your favorite hobby. It’s enjoying music. It’s having a wonderful meal with friends and family.
Work and rest. Both are gifts from our loving Father.
Image by Peter Lee. Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr.
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