On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation. (Genesis 2:2-3)
Undoubtedly, with the changing pace of our world, we are always busy. Naturally, we grow tired after a week of work in the office via seemingly endless Zoom meetings, a week of homeschooling our keiki while keeping them under control, a week of attending online exams and class lectures, a week of managing our finances, a week of maintaining our health and fitness in light of COVID-19. Our tired bodies will want to rest, and God wants us to rest as well.
Sabbath is one of God’s ten commandments, so He calls us to take a day off after six days of labor to be with our Lord and the Body. God Himself rested on the seventh day after six days of creating the heavens and earth. Still, we are no longer in bondage of works, sin, and death. We are now saved and freed by Jesus’ work on the cross. Indeed, Pastor Tim Keller describes the Sabbath as “a declaration of our freedom.” We observe a day of rest not as a box to check in order to be saved, but we rest as an expression of gratitude and dependence on Christ and His finished work.
Have you taken time to truly rest, to pause for a moment and think about what God means when He commands us to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy?” (Exod. 20:8) That “you must not do any work?” (Exod. 20:10) Do you reflect more on your work over the past week, or on what Christ did for you? When you are feeling tired, do you rest for yourself or for our Lord? God sent His only Son to finish the work when we could not. Rest in what God has done.