Learning to Rest // Some thoughts on Sabbath

I was never good at sitting still... stillness does not come naturally to me. As a child I was a fidget; as a teen, a socialite; and in my adult years I have thrived on jumping feet first from one project into the next. For the most part, the duracell bunny in me runs reliably, though there have been definite seasons where I have come dangerously close to crashing and burning. Scarily close. A life-lesson that I seem to need to learn on repeat...

Rest is important... A vital part of our survival, and a part I too often ignore. A creation ordinance, God wrote rest into our psyche from the start... The need to lay down our tools, to sit back and appreciate. The Lord, who needs no rest, chose to rest. The seventh day. Of course, with the fall, his work resumed, and God began the incredible work of bringing his plan of salvation to pass.

But herein lies my problem... My work is never truly done. Though I may sit back at the end of a productive day (why do they seem so rare these days?!) my job is never really completed, and will never bring me the satisfaction of a complete ability to rest this side of eternity. True rest is, in that sense, unattainable in this life. There will always be more to do...

And so, into the framework of human experience, into the culture of his own people, the Israelites, God wrote laws of rest. A day set apart... His Sabbath day... An opportunity to remember their call to rest, and to recognise their lack of it. Their need for rest, and the unattainable nature of it. A day of regulations and rules, of stepping out and drawing near.

And then, 2000 years ago, God sent his rest-giver into the world. Jesus. The only one capable of giving us the rest we so desperately crave. He is the fulfillment of our need for rest. He finished the work and bought our rest for us. As he claims himself, true rest, rest for our souls, is only found in him.

And so after weeks of pouring over texts, essays, and God's word, this is the conclusion I came to... The Sabbath day as a ritual is no longer needed. Our rest is now fulfilled in Jesus, and we do not need to abide by ancient laws any longer. We find our rest in the Saviour, and not in laws and rules and regulations. The rules and Sunday observances that so many recall from days gone by are obsolete...

And yet...

There is something truly helpful about observing a day of rest... A day which is different and set apart. A day for specifically remembering the rest-giver as we step out of our day to day activities and draw near to the Father. A day of enjoying the company of those we love... a day to lay down our tools, our daily tasks and bask in the freedom of space, and time, and quiet. A day for delighting in the great outdoors, for celebrating the Saviour with our church families, for teaching our children that we value the Saviour highly enough to make one day a week look different for him.

It is not a law. It is not a rule. It is not a ritual.

It is a personal conviction...

And so these next few weeks and months, we will be figuring out the practicalities of setting apart Sundays (the Lords Day - the day of the Resurrection; the day the early believers set apart as special) for ourselves as a family, without it becoming a question of law. When I posted a while ago that I was getting my head around this topic, so many of you were so helpful.. had so many wonderful insights and thoughts and ideas. For each of us, the Lord's Day will probably look very different... and it should! The removal of "law" around the topic gives us freedom in Christ to express our love for him in varied ways; the variety and uniqueness with which he created us, means rest will look very different for all of us. For some, setting aside Sunday is not possible as a full day of rest, and a different time may be found.

But as we have read, and talked and mulled over, and discussed, I have realised there are three things we want to make central as we set up this new(/old) tradition as part of our family culture...

REUNION
A time for gathering together, week by week, with our church family, to celebrate God's work in our lives, to encourage and grow, to challenge and be challenged. Meeting together with our brothers and sisters in Christ is a vital part of resting, because as we gather around God's word - as we listen, as we sing, as we pray and as we share, we will be reminded where our true rest is found!

REMEMBERANCE
A day to remember the Saviour... of course, we should be doing that every day, but a day in which we are specifically encouraged to actively remember... perhaps through music, through a devotional time together as a family, perhaps through having friends for lunch and hearing how the Lord is at work in their lives... intentionally remembering Christ's work on the cross for us. I feel like this is the one I'm least clear on (as remembering is something that is part of our everyday lives as Christians - so how do you intentionally encourage it on a specific day? Thoughts welcome!)

REST

Not working... not having our heads in devices... not rushing off to different events and clubs and activities... just savouring and soaking time. Teaching our children the importance of rest, and the variety of ways that can be found... delving into a good book, rambling through the woods on a Sunday afternoon, laughter over a board game, colouring in, chatting over cups of tea, relaxing with friends and making new acquaintances as we invite people into our home... so many different ways... I'm excited to explore this one.

And so my little delve into a question I've long wanted to explore, has brought me out with more than 23 pages of detailed notes  (no joke!)... I'm excited about this new little adventure... an opportunity to purposefully and intentionally set aside a day for reunion, and rememberance and rest. We will not be tied to it... it is not law, but we hope it will be a way to set up a weekly tradition to make our Sundays different...

So what are your thoughts? What do you do to rest? Do you keep any specific day of the week as special? Do you have any ideas for how to set aside a day without it becoming ritualistic? Please share your thoughts and ideas as we set out on figuring this out for ourselves!