Sabbath Rest

I struggle with the concept of keeping Sabbath-rest. I have often tried to justify myself by arguing that I am merely fighting against hard-wired legalistic tendencies. However, I believe that my reluctance tends to flow more from my own selfishness rather than from a bucking of legalistic rules. I want to control my own schedule. I want to get through my check list of to-do’s. I want to catch up on exercise. I realize that when I choose not to keep the Sabbath, my focus in on “I” rather than “I am”.

However, I am reminded of the image in Genesis of God at the first recorded Sabbath. He is finished with His initial creation. He does not need rest, but He choses to rest to preside over His lovely work. He sits in dominion over what He has done. Moreover, He clearly states that this is a pattern that He has established for His people. He commands us to stop, to redirect our focus unto Him and away from work and self. While I am convicted by my frequent breaking of the Sabbath commandment, I am also renewed and excited by the compelling principles that inspire it. I pray, by God’s grace, that my life will be increasingly characterized by Sabbath-rest rather than Sabbath-activity.

—Andy Alspaugh