Flourishing Life

A preacher’s task is never done. There is always more to be said on any particular scripture or subject. I could never exhaust the meanings and life lessons of any scripture or subject matter simply because God’s Word is so multivalent, rich, and what one author calls “thick” and because most any subject one would choose for a sermon topic has far too many references in scripture to think about or talk about in any one sermon or sermon series for that matter.

The above is true of the current message series: “Office Hours.” One thing I have not an will not spend much time on in the current series is the idea of Sabbath. I have talked about it before, and will in the future, but with the current time constraints and the messages I felt led by God to share, Sabbath got the short end of the stick this time around. Not that Sabbath is not important, it certainly is.

In reflecting on this past week’s message emphasis on hard work and working with integrity so as to be a good witness in the workplace, I was thinking that perhaps some might walk away with a distorted view of work. Work is good. It is part of God’s original intention for us in creation, but work is not the only thing for which we are created. The old saying is true, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

I don’t want to talk about play, though, because it seems like in our culture we manage to get plenty of play in. There was a healthy attendance at the UK football game this past weekend. People tend to make time for their priorities. I want to talk about a priority we do not make time for because, apparently, it’s been low on our priority list. Sabbath.

Remember what Jesus said about the Sabbath? That Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath? I don’t want to go off on some religious tirade about how far we’ve fallen in this culture. Oh, we don’t observe Sabbath like we used to. When I was a kid you would be lucky, indeed, to find even a gas station open in rural Warren County, Kentucky. No, I’m not looking for a return of the good old days when those with religious values also ruled in the arena of political values. I’m much more interested in us adopting the values of our Creator God who knows us better than we know ourselves and recognized, from the beginning, that work, though a good thing, was not to be the only thing. We also need rest.

Sabbath, Biblically, is a creative activity. It is first described in the Creation accounts in Genesis. God takes a break, looks back on his creative work and says, “Hey, job well done!” Sabbath is a time of reflection and remembering, a time of reconnecting with life purpose and celebrating the goodness of the gift of God. Sabbath is a time to recall the goodness of God and to worship God freely, unencumbered by the burdens or busyness of work. This is why Sabbath is generally a twenty-four hour period… twenty-four consecutive hours.

God put us together with a need to decompress, to relax and enjoy his presence. Even play does not do the recharging work of a good Sabbath.

What does Sabbath look like for you? Have you ever really observed a good Sabbath, one that is life-renewing, life-affirming, God-connecting? What would that mean for you and your family to make Sabbath a priority? How would that affect the quality of your communication with one another if you set aside time to talk, share, and rest together?

In our hustle and bustle world where we prioritize business, what would it mean to prioritize Spirit-empowered recharging?

I’m believing that God knows more than I do about me. If he said to take a day off and focus on life, love, and Lord, then I might want to give it a try.