Early on it’s temping to believe that we are the masters of our destinies and that we can manage it all, but then life happens! Time moves forward like an avalanche and eventually we are forced to acknowledge that instead of us managing it, time manages us! Instead of having enough time, we often run out of it. We are dragged kicking and screaming from one hour to the next—overworked and behind schedule. In our worst moments it feels like the clocks have taken over the world and enlisted us to do their bidding—like slaves without choice or freedom, we go through each day watching their faces and bowing to their revelations.
Radical Sabbath
In the midst of it all God audaciously plants himself squarely in the middle our lives—which seems like an act of anarchy and rebellion! Who does he think he is? How can he just take a 24-hour block of time each week and declare it a work-free zone, without time dominance? What about the clocks?
Jesus said:
“The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28, NLT).
Sabbath is radical in that it pulls us away from the clocks—away from routine chores and necessary compulsions. It is unbridled rebellion against the Protestant work ethic that says we must continually produce something of value to have worth. It is heaven’s bunker bomb that blows to smithereens secularism and human dominance. No wonder so many oppose it! Just think, if everyone embraced Sabbath, what would it do to capitalism and the economy?
Rich with Time
People keep talking about the economy and money as if it were our most valuable resource. But most people with money will tell you that money is nothing without time. If you don’t have money but still have time, you are rich!
Sabbath is about origins, family ties and freedom from constraints; about destinations and revelations; about salvation from self-domination.
God uses Sabbath to answer the Psalmist’s prayer:
“Teach us to number our days, that we may bring You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12, AMP).
© 2002 - 2024, AnswersForMe.org. All rights reserved. Click here for content usage information.
