All things we might use to describe a day of Sabbath. I want to look at our personal motivation for a day of rest.
I think a lot of people genuinely work hard and feel like they are "owed" a day to relax. Considering we cant earn salvation through works, I'm going to say we can't possibly be "owed" much. All these diversions aside, do you ever think about why God gave us the Sabbath? I know i do.
Was it to spend time with love ones? Was it to recover from our labor? Was it to have something to rush toward every week, and pass up 6/7 of our lives? (or 1-7/7 depending on your work ethic and how much you long for the weekend)What i do know is Jesus said that the Sabbath was created for man, and not man created for the Sabbath. So i shouldn't place busting a chill on the top of most exciting things to do this week? I think we can be quick to put rest on a pedestal, and then if something gets in the way we get grumpy or cranky. I know this has happened to me before.
So what does God intend the Sabbath for?
"But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, "You shall surely observe My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."" - Exodus 31:13
Here is God speaking to Moses, giving him the Ten Commandments. What i gather from this EPIC verse 13 is this: The Sabbath belongs to God, it is a sign of our relationship, and it is to remember Him, that He is God and He alone cleanses us of sin.
What does this mean for our worship?
Like usual the questions about Sabbath i ask first are all "me" questions. We can be so focused on ourselves. Here God has made it obvious that Sabbath is all about Him. All the me questions melt away in the fire of God's passion for us. When you think about how He gave us the Sabbath to remember Him. I am going to go so far as call the Sabbath a day of romance with God. Like escaping with a lover, or a honeymoon. But we get to have it with God every week! When we think about it in this context the questions about "what should we do on the Sabbath?" also disappear.
And all that remains, is intimate worship.
