Sabbath

Maybe because it seems selfish to focus on ourselves on our day of rest to honor the Lord, I haven’t seen many people make the connection between sabbath days and getting to know ourselves better. But knowing ourselves, our true selves, is an under-utilized resource in bringing God’s kingdom to Earth.

The invitation to rest in God produces many beautiful things in us -- obedience, trust in his provision, and getting to know his character of love better -- topics many people have written about.

But one more important thing that I believe sabbath accomplishes is how we get to know ourselves better. And therefore, get even closer to being pure, unhindered images of God on this earth.

So if you are feeling like you are boring or that your life is boring, I beg you to reconsider. You are divine. The same materials God used to make stardust and amethyst and sunsets are the same materials he used to weave you together in your mother’s womb. You are not boring. You are just disconnected from your stunning, complex, beautiful authentic self.

As kids head back to school, it's important to protect their right to rest and practice the Sabbath.

If you doubt the importance of Sabbath, just run a quick Google search for terms like “exhaustion” or “burnout” or the various mental disorders that accompany the habits of our society. This is what crashing back down to earth looks like for a society. It’s a recurring blight on our culture. We must gain an appreciation for God’s gift of the Sabbath. We need to consider the possibility that maybe, just maybe, God has written down what we need for genuine human flourishing and built it into the actual fabric of the created order.