So there was a little big of gritting the teeth yesterday. Things weren't quite going the way they were supposed to. We were going to be visiting a different church than our regular one, and this other church is one hour away.
Well, first of all, I have three kids and one is still in diapers. Then, the horse in the pasture next to us got out, and the owners live a few miles away, so we had to call them and make sure the horse didn't get too far away before they got here.
Needless to say, I wasn't happy about the fact that we had missed part of Sabbath School. Why? Because I think I will rot in hell for being late? Nope. Because I'm afraid of what people will think of me and maybe I'm not a good enough christian? Nope (but sometimes it does get to me). So what was the reason I wasn't happy about being late?
I like to enjoy and embrace the Sabbath. For a home schooling mommy with three kids, I need Sabbath, every minute of it! I need each and every moment of remembering Who created me and for what purpose. Remembering Who can forgive for the messes I've made this week and Who can recreate me. Remembering Who loves children and wants them to be happy. Remembering Who loves and gives special strength to mommies with three children. Yes, I need every minute of Sabbath, as well as every minute of Sabbath School and Church where I can worship God my creator.
To me, Sabbath is like the nestea plunge. Does anyone else out there remember those commercials? All those people in desperate need of refreshment who finally take the "nestea plunge" into a pool of crystal clear water. That's what Sabbath is to me. By the end of the week, I am in desperate need of refreshment, just like the Creator knew we would be. I want to fall into all the beauty, peacefulness, joy and celebration, worship and praise, relaxation and challenge, everything that is Sabbath.
So, next week, I'll learn from this past week's mistakes, and try to be ready to embrace every minute of the Sabbath that I need so much. I don't want to take the plunge when the pool is already half empty. I want it all! All the blessings of Sabbath.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
Hey Sharon,
Great analogy - especially with how hot it's been lately! Sabbath is awesome. What a blessing God created for us! I thoroughly look forward to the refreshment each week too. Doreen
Me too! I take a running leap off a cliff each Friday evening! Sabbath is the greatest. Jesus is the greatest for giving it to us. When I think of Sundaykeepers, I'm sad that they don't have what we have.
Sharon,
Now see...Sabbath is more a calgon take me away kinda day for me. Of course I don't do anything but show up (sometimes) and sit and enjoy everyone else doing all the work. :)
Brain...Nice to meet you...but I couldn't disagree with your comment about how Sunday keepers don't have what we have any more that I do. I don't know you at all but that statement came across to me as a put down to Sunday Keepers. (How is that for a first meet and greet on the board. :/)
I have no doubt in my mind that we do worship on the correct day. However...because other people are worshiping on Sunday instead doesn't mean they aren't recieiving an equal share of the blessing God is so happily dishing out.
I learned in my Freshman Bible Class from Pastor Lee Hadley...I think it's a quote from Ellen White...
"When it is in the heart to obey...and when efforts are put forth. God sees that as mans best effort and makes up for its lack with His own devine merrit."
I try to remember...it's not US against THEM. Instead it is God and us against SIN. And all have "sinned and come short of the glory of God."
ooops...sorry David I called you Brian in my response. Not sure why that happened.
I enjoy Sabbath! I guess I have a little different perspective on Sabbath than most. Christ IS my Sabbath rest under the New Covenant. I enjoy His love, grace & nurture each & every day of the week. Yes, I still commemorate creation & rest one special day a week.
However, in response to David's thought-provoking comment, being a former Sunday keeper, coming from a family of Sunday keepers, I can honestly say I didn't feel any more blessed per se after switching over to Saturday worship than I did on Sunday. (The only difference was that for a time I felt more holy & righteous than everybody else because of the day I kept.) I'm over that now... We enjoy visiting Sunday churches and always leave with a blessing after doing so... God loves Sunday keepers too.
I like the analogy, Sharon. I remember the commercial! :o)
Sharon - great analogy, thanks.
David - buddy, that was a low blow. As SDA's we put too much emphasis on our cultural experiences of Sabbath. I mean, really, did God intend for us to go to church, have potluck and take a nap as the true measure of Sabbath? Sabbath rest, like my friend Trailady said, is in Christ. I don't say that as a liberal SDA, I say it as a Christian who understands the New Covenant! Once we get that, Sabbath keeping then becomes a delight and a joy which beautifully represents the fact that we are saved by His grace alone. Are we done hammerin' Dave? :) I'm smiling as a type, so don't take my tone as crass. Love y'all!
While lumping all Sunday keepers together in his comment was inappropriate, I think David makes a good point. There are many people all around me in my area who do whatever they want on Sunday afternoon.
In a nearby town that is even smaller than ours (hard to imagine but true), a small store owner was accosted by many Sunday keepers for wanting to open his store on Sunday. He said, the Sabbath keepers don't get mad at me for being open on Saturday, they just don't come to shop that day. Why do you people want to close me down on Sunday? What really chapped his hide is that these same people would drive to the next biggest town and go shopping at Walmart on Sunday after church.
But there are some who keep the whole day holy, so we must never lump everyone together in one group. This is how I found one such family. I scheduled the boys' birthday party (their birthdays are 15 days apart so they shared a party this last year) on a Sunday afternoon when most of the people who I knew would come could make it. There were some "Sunday keepers" who came. But there was one lady who said she and her boys would not come because it was Sunday and they would be going to church.
I explained to her that I did not mean to offend in any way by inviting her and trying to get her to "break her Sunday." I explained that I had seen so many people around me doing whatever that I didn't think it would be a problem. I learned real fast that not all Sunday keepers are the same. I really respect that woman for sticking up for her beliefs. She is an example to me of Christian dedication, Sunday or not!
If Sabbath-keeping is not doing work, not shopping & filling a pew, I guess I measure up pretty well. It goes a lot deeper than that though. And we can't judge someone's sincerity by how well or how lax they keep or defend The Lord's Day. It's about the heart and where it is. I can sit in a pew for Sabbath or Sunday and still be a million miles away from God. It goes a LOT deeper than most are willing to dig. (This is why I was nearly neurotic years ago.) Now I simply observe it & rest. I don't stress myself out by doing constant mental inventory of "Is this or that appropropriate?" Again, it's really not about Sabbath, it's about a relationship with a living God. This challenges both Sunday & Saturday churchgoers. Pharisees kept Sabbath strictly- yet their hearts were far from God. If I'm close to Him all week, I'll also want to be close to Him in heart on the weekend. :o)
Post a Comment