A Day of Rest

  “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11, New International Version)

Over the years, I’ve thought about doing a series of blog posts on the ten commandments. Hopefully, some day I still will. Right now, today, however, the third commandment is on my mind.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but Sunday – the Sabbath – seems to be my day to do housework. I try my hardest to clean through the house on Saturday, so I can take the next day off, but somehow, I always get distracted, become engaged in extra chores around the house, or take a nap. I wake up Sunday morning with the realization that I am going to have to do some work and not get the rest which the Lord instituted back in the Old Testament. And even if the house is clean as a whistle come Sunday morning, I always find something to do – clean out a drawer or wash clothes. How does a person take an entire day off without doing any work whatsoever? The Jews weren’t even supposed to cook on the Sabbath. I’m all about that, but then Hubby does most of our cooking anyway.

If you really think about it, God gave us the commandments to help us out, not to hinder us. He knew what was best for us and that’s why he gave us a list of rules to memorize in confirmation class and try to retain into adulthood. The third commandment seems to demonstrate that the most.  

I think we are all tired - if not exhausted - physically, mentally and emotionally. It’s been a rough eight months. Maybe today, or tomorrow as it will be Labor Day, we need to just relax and not do a thing. Just reflect on the good things which God has given us and not worry about doing a thing.

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

(Matthew 11:28, New International Version)