And On The Seventh Day. . .

By Elba Morataya

I do not get much rest. As a matter of fact, I constantly feel exhausted. This is a very common theme in my life. I am constantly hurrying, planning my week, or thinking about all I have to get done. But no matter how much planning I do, there is never enough time for anything. This semester, I am taking 18 units, writing a thesis (or attempting to), working, and trying to have somewhat of a social life. Looking at my busy semester ahead, I thought I would do something even crazier than juggling school and extracurricular activities.

I would rest. I would stop. I would keep the Sabbath.

Now most modern day Christians consider Sabbath as part of the old law (see: don’t have to do it anymore). Though some Christians believe that it is no longer obligatory to keep Sabbath, I have found that keeping Sabbath is essential to a Christians’ holistic well being. Sabbath can be about ceasing from doing what is necessary and doing what gives life abundantly. This may mean a million different things depending on a person’s passions and different ways of communicating with G-d.

I have found that we live in a culture that tells us if we’re not checking our phones, Facebook pages, or being “busy”, that we are wasting our time. There is a certain quality of sacredness in giving up our time, our most precious commodity, to G-d. It can be a time in which we confront ourselves in confession; perhaps acknowledging that we get so preoccupied with life that we forget to stop and remember who we are and where we came from.

We do not keep Sabbath because it is law. We keep Sabbath because it is life.

Sabbath can spark in us new energy to live fully. For some reading Scripture or prayer brings about this life. However, G-d can speak through many more ways that just these. Taking a hike in a beautiful place, snowboarding on a perfect powder day, or simply journaling as I sit on a tree are ways in which I can see, feel, and know G-d.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own agenda and our own “busyness” we forget our purpose, will, or whatever you want to call it. We can often see the LORD reminding His people in the Hebrew Scriptures to remember Him. He calls them to remember times of slavery so that they may recall a time of rescue. Perhaps taking a time of Sabbath can be a way for Christians to remember these same things of what the LORD has done and what He will do.
That’s worth stopping for.