On the Sabbath

I don’t want to get into the nitty gritty on what’s allowed or not allowed on the Sabbath. I do believe there IS a sabbath however, and that’s what I’d like to type about this week.

I became convinced of the existence of the Sabbath about a decade ago. At the time, I was treating the weekend all the same. I mowed the lawn on Saturday or Sunday. I did house projects either of those two days. Besides going to church, I didn’t treat Saturday or Sunday any differently. I think a lot of Christians do that.

As I started reading the Genesis story and becoming more convinced of the Earth being “young” (more on that in a future post), I couldn’t overlook the model God gave us for rest. He rested. Before the law. The Sabbath isn’t an Older Covenant thing; it’s been a thing from the beginning.

Jesus also never repeals the Sabbath, He upholds it. He does tell the Pharisees they are getting it all wrong, of course. But he never abolished the Sabbath.

So what was I to do about it? Well, I’m a simple man. So I started simple:

1. The Sabbath should look different from every other day of the week.
2. The existence of the Sabbath means that I should be working for six days!

Number two was the big one. I wasn’t actually working a full six days as a school teacher. I needed to find some work to do on Saturdays. When I lived in St. Louis, Saturdays became my house projects day. Nowadays, I take clients on Saturdays, as well as do house projects. I also teach the kids classical music and science on Saturdays.

I think a lot of students I have would do well to work six days and rest one day. Many of them haven’t even thought about it, I think because they procrastinate. I’ve been there, so I have some patience for it. But imagine what blessing would come by prioritizing your labors for Saturday, then resting on Sunday! It’s blessed me; I think it would bless you too.