Rest. God commands it.

Here's a short quote about Sabbath I heard recently from a friend:

You do not need to work seven days a week. You are not God. God rested, so surely you can rest, too. You are not the creator and sustainer of your own life. All you are and all you have comes from God's provision. Stop. Be still. Trust God. Rest. 

We often categorize Sabbath as one of those commands from the Old Testament that is no longer necessary. But it's not an archaic command from the Old Testament just for ancient Israelites. It's part of the fabric of the rhythms of creation. It's in the Ten Commandments, which many Christians still value. It's also the one command from the Ten Commandments that Christians habitually ignore without blinking an eye.

Yet, Biblical passages about Sabbath suggest that Sabbath is necessary for the lives of God's people. Of course Sabbath won't save anyone. But Sabbath is fundamental to the life of faith, because Sabbath at its root reinforces a life of trust in God. Sabbath reminds us that we are not God, we are not the ones who make life "go." And Sabbath reminds us how our God does not demand or enslave, and the life we're called to is likewise different -- a witness to the God who frees us and brings life.

Sabbath is for our good; it's for our benefit! Sabbath is intended to be life-giving.

Yet, sadly we don't have time for Sabbath. We continually ignore it. And that's not a good thing.

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The word "Sabbath" refers to a specific day, but the word also communicates the idea of "stop." The Sabbath day is the "stop day." If you notice in the commands about Sabbath in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15), God never says anything about worship. In other words, Sabbath is not a day of worship. Sabbath is a day of stopping.

What do you stop from? Everything that you do where you are striving and trying to produce, to make your life, to perform. Sabbath frees us from the burdensome myth that we are the creators and sustainers of our lives, and invites us to actively trust that God is. If you do yard work or tasks around the house because you feel you need to sustain a certain image or make your house keep up with the latest trends, then Sabbath means stopping from that. Shopping, buying, and selling in the marketplace all are involved in the ongoing cycle of attaining, producing, and working. Sabbath is a stop from that. It all can wait a day.

But in our culture, Sabbath = lazy. If you're not constantly productive, or on the go, you might get behind. In God's economy, Sabbath = life. It's for us. It's not a command to burden us; it's a command to make sure that our lives actually have a day to breathe, to rest, to give life to ourselves and others, to heal. To rest in God.

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Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look at aspects of Sabbath and consider how we can incorporate it into our lives, our families, our homes. But don't wait! I invite you and your family to just start somewhere. Just start trying out Sabbath, and as you do, over the next few weeks we'll address the many sides to Sabbath and it's meaning for us today. As you think about it, share your thoughts and questions in the comments. We'll incorporate them into the content over the next few weeks....

For now, here are a few practical ideas to begin the journey of Sabbath-keeping at home.

1. Start small. It's no surprise that Sabbath is about as counter-cultural as it gets in our world today. This should be a sign of how un-Christian American culture really is, and has been for a long time. Keeping Sabbath for many of us is nearly impossible at this point. We can't -- or at least we tell ourselves that we can't -- just stop everything cold turkey and keep the Sabbath. And, unlike the Israelites, it's not like we've been swept up and delivered from an oppressive environment of production, from demands for 24-7 work to build up an empire that doesn't recognize God, and re-created anew to be a new people with a new way of life under a freeing and life-giving God, where Sabbath is liberation from unending striving and productivity (or have we?). At any rate, recognizing that Sabbath observance is tough sledding in our culture, maybe we should start small. Begin maybe with a "Sabbath evening" or a "Sabbath afternoon." Try a little at a time: stop from work. Maybe stop from shopping. Maybe stop from all technology and electronics just for an afternoon or evening first. Increase it to an entire day after a few weeks.

2. Don't do it alone. Sabbath is never an individual thing. The commands in Exodus and Deuteronomy involve entire families and communities. Get your whole family involved. Even better, try a "Sabbath project" with one or two other families from your church. Sabbath is not about being isolated. It's about stopping from striving and producing. Sabbath can be a time to fellowship and celebrate that God is God and we are not. Take Sabbath and gather with others while you stop and celebrate rest.

3. Talk about it. Talk about Sabbath with your spouse, your friends, your co-workers, or your family. You might be surprised at how many people wished there was a day to "stop the machine." You might be surprised at how many people do keep a Sabbath. Talking about it might help you think more about what you think and feel about Sabbath. It might help you get ideas.

So...on to it! Start stopping. I look forward to the journey with you all.

Waiting for....

Advent is a time of waiting. For many children in our society, they're waiting for...presents. Or waiting for time off from school. Or maybe they can't quite name it, but they experience this pervasive sense of anticipation. They're waiting for...something. For many children, whatever it is they're anticipating quickly fades when Christmas passes. The fulfillment proves to be short-lived.

For parents, a different sense of anticipation might be felt. Maybe some wait for what gift they'll receive from their significant other, or from their children. Maybe parents anticipate how their children will react to the celebrations and to Christmas Eve and morning rituals. But for parents there also is a sense of anticipation, of getting things ready for Christmas gatherings, anticipation of travel, and of spending time with relatives and others. Sometimes this sense of anticipation turns in to anxiety.

Famiy Values

I don't know why it's taken us so long to do this. I may be wrong, but I suspect our family dynamics and the overall health of our family might be better had we done something like this long ago.

It's not that our family is falling apart or anything. We're a normal family who have times of joy and love--times we deeply cherish and wonder if we could have it any better. But we also have moments of great tension, anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, and raising voices.

We're a typical human family. Nothing to hide. No one to impress. No image to put up.

I don't know that we'd have less struggle if we'd done things differently. I do suspect we'd have more direction and a general sense of family unity and identity, though. Again, it's not that we don't have these now, but I suspect unity and identity might be clearer and that might play out in how we live, what decisions we make, and such.

I'm talking about developing a "Family Values" statement.

What is worship? (Part II in a series on family worship, using the book "Family Worship")

It's happened before. We get ready to go to "worship" on Sundays and I get this unsettled feeling when someone says, "Let's get ready to go to worship."

Lately, I've been inclined to say something like, "No. We're going to sing songs of praise and gather with other Christians for prayer, fellowship, and encouragement. It's part of the Christian life, but does not define worship."

Maybe you've thought this. Maybe you have not. Maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe there's something more to "worship."

As we get into the book Family Worship, it is important that we get our heads around what "worship" is in the first place.

Mind the Steps

This past fall I walked my daughter into a new school. She's in middle school now. It's a new stage--for her, for my wife, and for me. And it's a new stage for her two younger brothers. They look at her differently now. My wife and I see her differently also. I still haven't adjusted to the previous changes and transitions as she's grown up. I'm still wishing she were in a stroller.

We can't stop the turning of days or the physical, mental, and emotional growth and change we all experience. Such growth and change is a necessary part of life. You stop growing and changing, and you stop living.