Post Vacation Thoughts - Part One

Well, vacation has come to a close again and its time to get back to what I love to do and that's talk about God and worship.

It's good to take a break now and again though, and I believe God meant for us to do that so that we wouldn't burn ourselves out. In order to help, God instituted a period of rest for the people of Israel known as Shabbat, or in modern day terms, the Sabbath.

Shabbat in Hebrew literally means "to cease", meaning that you were to cease all work from Sundown on Friday, until the stars came out on Saturday. For us in modern day, it would be the equivalent of a weekend. But that doesn't mean that we become lazy couch potatoes. You see, in the modern era, we typically misunderstand God's point about Sabbath.

Jesus and his disciples were out one Sabbath morning and you can read the account of what happened here: Mark 2:23-28.

Notice particularly, Jesus' response in verse 27: "Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." " Jesus tells us that God instituted a period of rest for man's benefit, but it doesn't mean that we can't do the essential tasks that we need to.

You see, the Pharisees at this point in Jesus' ministry, were trying to trap or trick him at every turn and Jesus, being God, was way too smart for their games. He responds further by saying in verse 28: "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Our Sabbath as we understand it means that we need to take a break or a vacation from our work for a period of renewal and refreshment. And now that I've done that for the last week and a half, I feel renewed and refreshed to continue with my service for God.

Do you need to stop and take a Sabbath?