The change which our Lord has made in the Sabbath is indicative of the change which he has made in our life. The law says, “Work six days and then observe the seventh as the Sabbath.” But under the gospel the arrangement is, “Rest on the first day before you have done a stroke of work. Just as the week begins, take your rest, and after that, in the strength derived from it, and from the grateful motives which arise out of that one blessed day of rest, give to the Lord the six days of the week.” There is a change from law to gospel indicated in that very change. So let it be with you.—49.243

Charles Spurgeon

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates. For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. – Exodus 20:8-11

I sat in a nursing home with an aging man who was dying. He had millions of dollars in his bank accounts but none of it could help him. His body had begun to betray him years ago as he suffered from one physical ailment after another that slowly stripped him of all the little pleasures he had left in life. His mind recently had begun slipping. We were told there wasn’t anything else that could be done. In a rare and blessed moment of lucidity, we got to talk about eternal life. I shared the gospel. He affirmed that he believed on Christ. Then he began to weep and he said, “I wasted it! I wasted it! I wasted it!” I tried to console him and encouraged him with several verses about the grace of God. But then he looked me in the eyes and shared, “I know I put my faith in Jesus and I am saved by his work alone, but I should have prepared better for this. I should have spent time getting to know God. I should have stopped everything I thought was important to see God. I am about to step into eternity and I feel like God is a stranger! I should have taken more time to get to know him! I should have gone to church! I should have read my bible. I should have done a lot of things and now I can’t because I’m out of time.” We talked and prayed together in what would be the last lucid conversation he had on this earth. 

His words still ring in my ears. As much as anything, that near-death bed confession has haunted me and caused me to call people to take time from their labors and look up and see God! I don’t want to hammer on this topic of a sabbath day, but I think there are many need to hear it in our culture. I don’t want you or I to get to a moment like this man and feel like we have wasted our lives. 

Craig Barnes, in a book entitled, “Body and Soul,” shares a small story on how a Sabbath day celebration keeps us from succumbing to the dark side of suffering and even offers hope and redemption in challenging circumstances: 

“In 1964 the French philosopher Jean Vanier established a community for people with intellectual disabilities. He called this community “L’Arche,” which means “the Ark.” Vanier quickly discovered that people with intellectual disabilities, robbed of all pretense, demonstrate the most essential traits of the human condition common to all of us. For example, he said, humans need to give praise in order to stay healthy. One of the most important things people in the L’Arche community do is celebrate. They celebrate holidays, birthdays, accomplishments, anniversaries, and anything else they can think of. If a week goes by without a celebratory event, they make one up. Why? Because suffering does not have the final word. (Bold added for effect)

In Worship we choose to enjoy and celebrate the goodness of God in the life we have (Barnes, Body and Soul, 123).

Part of the reason we need a Sabbath day is to shake us out of the thought that this life is all that there is. Many have put off this day to their own despair. They let work and other projects encroach on this day week after week and instead of putting off their projects for the sake of the eternal, they put off eternity for things that won’t ultimately matter. They have had no time to ponder. No time to think it through their faith. 

We need to remember this day! Remember you are only here for a short while! Remember you have a home! You are just passing through! Remember that suffering doesn’t get the last word and so you can face all the aches and pains of a worn-out body with the joy of the Lord. As stated so eloquently above, “Suffering doesn’t get the last word.” Remember! Remember! Remember! 

Father, Your word is true and good. We are grateful that suffering doesn’t get the last word. We are grateful for Sabbath days that help us reflect on Your word and learn more about trusting You for our salvation by trusting You with all of the urgencies of life. Give us peace from resting in you. Let us be those who worship you in our Work and in our Rhythms of rest. In Jesus Name, Amen.