Sunday is an a-typical day in our home. Brad typically is at church for at least 11 hours: 4 or more in the morning, then about 7 or more in the afternoon and evening. Bronco season is even more wonderful because for the few hours he's home he really really wants, maybe even needs, to watch the Broncos. I'm still learning how to be a good football fan...but I wear Bronco paraphernalia because it makes Brad really happy. :) I say this all in love. A few years ago, before I was more sympathetic to the carnal, manly need to watch football, Brad instigated a deal. Every time the Broncos won, I got a foot rub! I'll admit it encouraged me to sit in the room and try to understand the intricacies of this man-game. (No offense to Amanda and other football-loving women!)
Getting back to the subject at hand...Since Cora was born I've gradually stepped down from my role as a youth group leader. It's been a difficult transition to make for me but I'll save those details for another time. Since Brad is gone so long on Sunday evenings I have found myself feeling bored and lonely at this time of the week. We don't have an evening church service at our church to go to. I find myself struggling between "freedom in Christ" to do whatever I want on Sundays (whether it be getting errands done or work done around the house or going to a park) and "honor the sabbath and keep it holy". My heart-prayer is for a Sunday friend that we can just hang out together on Sundays while our husbands work.
I'm not sure what a "Sabbath" or "Sabbath-rest" is supposed to look like for today's Christians, despite hearing numerous sermons on the subject. Since Brad's work requires him to work a lot on Sundays and he takes a Sabbath on a different day of the week, does that mean I should do that, too? I brought this up to him today between the end of an incredibly exciting Bronco's game (truly) and his departure for church. His response was "I honestly don't often take a Sabbath, even though I take a day off of work." We didn't have time to delve in deeper, but it got me thinking. I'd like to ask you these questions:
What does it mean to you to "take a Sabbath" or to "honor the Sabbath and keep it holy"? How does the "freedom in Christ" you have as a Christian influence this? What does this make your Sundays look like, or do you take a Sabbath another day of the week?
What thought provoking questions; I remember hearing a sermon series on the sabbath and one thing I remember is being encouraged to have "mini-sabbaths" every day. Meaning time to rest, and sit with God, enjoy his glory and presence maybe for only a minute or two in the midst of life. It was encouraging.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! Recently our pastor talked about this and I think he made an excellent point. He said that the Sabbath is not about us. We've sort of made it about us, but the Sabbath means a day set aside to gather with God's people and honor Him. It means, then, taking one full day of our 7-day week to focus on Him. The "resting" part comes because we are resting and focusing on Christ.
ReplyDeleteSo, taking Cora to the park, for instance isn't a bad thing to do. I don't think you'd be dishonoring the Sabbath by doing that. I think it can be about mind-set and where you're thoughts are that day. Of course, that also means getting out of bed and going to Church, which might not be "restful" (I rest much better in bed :P).
For us, the Sabbath looks like going to church, usually going out for lunch, and then naps for the kids. When there is a Sunday evening service we do that as well. We sometimes go on walks in the evenings when there isn't a Sunday evening service. We try to keep shopping or errands to a minimum since it's something we can do another day. We try to keep it restful in that sense. I also don't look at the bank account or get bills ready to pay or anything like that on Sunday.
Anyway, I don't know if that's helpful, but it sure helped me to realize that the "Sabbath Rest" is not about my rest but about God's glory.
Once again I believe your friends gave you wonderful comments. Our pastor had preached basically the same things, but also pointed out that the sabbath is a time for fellowship of believers. It is a great day to gather with the saints and our families, both at church and out of church.
ReplyDeleteOne area we do differ from Shari is we don't go out to eat or do anything that will require someone else to work because of our actions. We enjoy our day off and don't want to take that away from someone else.
As for our time around the house on the Sabbath we do things we enjoy and don't feel are a "chore" or on our "list". Commonly the things we enjoy are family things. We go geocaching, play games, call family out of state, write letters, watch a movie, have friends over, etc.
As for our day of sabbath we follow the early church and celebrate on Sunday, rejoicing on the day Christ arose from the grave.
I can't help but wonder if you don't have an evening service then what keeps Brad busy for 7 hours at night? Is that when your youth groups meet? Remember Brad is human and needs his rest too, or it will catch up in the end. Besides if God asks for a day of rest there is good reason and it is for your own good. :) (I know it is far easier said than done, especially when a new little one is about to arrive.)
Yes, Sandy, Brad has youth group with the high school students sunday evening. he usually goes in earlier in the afternoon because he can get a lot of office work done on the quiet Sunday afternoons, compared to busy weekdays with people coming in and out of the office a lot. One of the joys and yet frustrations of his job is the flexibility that he has to structure his own schedule. He usually is very good about keeping it balanced, but Sunday being what it is for him takes away from the traditional ways to observe the Sabbath.
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