“The Sabbath was made for man.” (Mark 2:27)

I dare you to rest with God this weekend.

Your body and soul realistically need one out of seven days to refresh, restore, and recalibrate to the drumbeat of heaven. Every time Jesus was attacked for His approach to Sabbath you find an interesting common denominator: He was involved in rejuvenation. Restoration. Revitalization.

The Scriptures say to cease from your work. The rabbis told married folks to be romantic. I say change speeds. Take a nap. Take your time. Unplug. Walk. Talk. Dance. Sing. Play. Eat. Listen. Notice. Worship. Smile. Breathe.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Wouldn’t it be great to say that and mean it? That’s what Sabbath does.

There is something holy about having a day when you can honestly say, “I’m not busy right now.” That day is Sabbath. There is something holy about having a day when you declare liberty from the tyranny of the urgent. That day is Sabbath. There is something holy about having a day when you remind yourself that God can keep this world – and your life – going without your help. That day is Sabbath.

“God rested from all his work.” (Genesis 2:3)

God rested? Let’s be clear. God did not rest because he was tired; he rested because he was finished. And that’s the real point. There is something supremely holy about a day when you celebrate what  heaven and hell know so well: because of the all-sufficient work of Jesus on the execution stake of Rome we can now rest. When Jesus said it is finished, it really was finished. Sabbath means we rest in it is finished. It’s the new creation. The one where we eternally cease from our dead “works” and our striving and all attempts at earning our Father’s approval. Because we realize we already have it.

But there’s so much to do. Exactly. There’s a world in need and injustice to be addressed and problems to be resolved. Which is why we need you sharp. Alive. Compelled by grace. In the first creation they worked for six days to enter into their rest. But in the new creation we humbly acknowledge that all works are dead works until we first enter into our rest.

So remember your holy rest. And let’s come out next week to change our world.

Shalom.