On the Sabbath

Yet one more thing I wrote a while back. Soon, I'll write and post something recent. Until then, re-runs until I think of something new.

The Sabbath came home last weekend for me. Now, it's not as though I never thought about the Sabbath, indeed I have (I even read a book on it--which, by the way is great,"Celebrating the Sabbath" by Bruce A. Ray). I assent (at least mentally) to the commandment "Keep the Sabbath holy". But last week it became real. It became something I recognized I needed. Working, having a 3 month old baby and a wife, and being in school (with papers and home work) the week becomes incredibly busy, to say the least. Often, thinking (specifically) on the things of God is sent to the very back burner, if not taken off the stove all together. It seems like all I read and think about is philosophy of language and Descartes. Enter the Sabbath . God has given me a day wherein I don't have to think about school or class or philosophy or work at all. I don't have to worry about lesson plans or grading papers or dealing with 9th graders. I don't have to make sure Mike's sermons are on the internet. I GET (!)--God commands me--to think about Him and His Word. I have the privilege of reading the theology that I want to be reading throughout the week. I get to have my soul and mind rested (as well as my body). So, last Sunday, I took a nap with my family. Played with my son. Talked with my wife. Read John Piper and CS Lewis and the best book on worldview I've read to date (Corneilius Plantinga's "Engaging God's World"). You see, the world will keep spinning if I take a day off from worrying about all the other things I have to do. God can handle it. The flip side of all this (there's always a flip side) is that I have to make better use of the other six days God has given me to work. I tend to be lazy and realizing the rest God offers me motivates me to work harder the days He has given me for that purpose. Resting presupposes working.