“My love, the gas gauge is sitting dead on empty and we still have forty miles before we arrive back at the Bible College! I’m not sure what to do?” We both struggled with making a decision after three years of teaching that dictated we should not purchase anything on Sunday.
“A 24 hours truck stop is at the next exit,” added my concerned wife cuddling our young son who was sound asleep and totally oblivious of our dilemma. “I guess we shouldn’t have gone to visit our parents or should have come home yesterday.”
“If nothing else we can park at the station until midnight and then buy gasoline. I certainly don’t want to face God’s judgment.”
This true personal example illustrates one of the extreme legalistic teachings we received in our early training. Thank the Lord in graduate school, we learned about the freedom we received in Christ and the Gospel. Now, if we travel, neither of us hesitates stopping and filling up when we need gasoline on Sunday. However, this freedom in Christ does not mean we work non-stop for seven days each week. The Lord established a day of rest as a creational ordnance and it remains one of the Ten Commandments, none of which were abrogated with the new covenant in Christ. Only the legalistic religious demands of keeping the Law changed. What made the Sabbath an unachievable bondage during Jesus time on earth was the Pharisee also added multiple traditional requirements—couldn’t break an egg, couldn’t pour a bucket of feed for your livestock, couldn’t blow out a candle, couldn’t take medicine, could eat a radish but couldn’t dip it in salt, etc., etc. They construed all these as work.
Jesus’ teaching expounds on the purpose for which the Lord established a day of rest. His disciples were hungry on particular Sabbath Day while traveling the ¼ mile allowed by the Law; they picked grain from a field, rubbed it between their hands winnowing it, and then ate. Seeing this Pharisees condemned them because they were doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath (Mar 2:24). Jesus responded, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (2:27). God designed mankind for six days of work and gave us one day for rest. While researching this I read several articles written by secular psychologists and sociologists on the necessity and benefits of a day of rest each week.
A day of rest should constitute a 24 hour period of refreshing—mentally, physically, and spiritually. It is a time to enjoy our spouse, children, family, friends, and time to focus on God without the clutter of the world around us. I know some of you are already saying, “I have too much to do to stop for a day.” I often hear people say they wish God would give them one more day each week. But here is the reality. If God granted an additional day making the week 8 days long, some would soon be asking for a 9th day because their 8 days were full, and they are again overloaded and tired. Nature teaches us we weren’t designed to work 24 hours a day. We require a certain amount of rest—called sleep. This same principle applies to one day per week.
A day of rest is no longer a legalist requirement; rather God allow us the benefit of taking the day off. Two areas not addressed in this article are, do we rest on Sunday or Saturday, and what should we do or not do on a day of rest. First, some people are unable to make Sunday the absolute day of rest. I learned this soon after entering the ministry. Sunday became my busiest day of the week with the duties of church. I chose to take my day of rest on Thursday. As a nurse, my wife was often required to work on Sunday. She discovered she must choose another day of the week or burn out if she didn’t.
The second area I cannot address is what to do or not to do on your day of rest. Each person should consider what is restful and relaxing—be with your family and focus on God and His word. Individual practices will differ. I was already accustomed not to study on Sunday from my legalistic Bible College, but the graduation school I attended, certainly not a legalistic institution, asked student not to study on Sunday and observe a day of rest. Even now, this proves a great blessing for me. Many Saturday nights I didn’t think I would get my work completed if I didn’t study the next day. However, I discovered after a day of rest, my mind was clear, my body was refreshed, God honored my commitment, and by starting early Monday morning, I finished all my work before the class.
Yes, we did stop and buy gasoline that night and no lightning bolts fell from heaven as judgment. We made it safely home, plus began a new journey toward discovering what freedom in Christ means and seeing its benefits.
Sustaining Word for the Week: Take a day off this week. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to practice what is restful and honors God’s.