“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
Genesis 2:2–3 (NIV)
I went back to Genesis and read the story of creation again, falling in love especially with the phrasing in The Voice translation:
Then God surveyed everything He had made, savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness. Evening gave way to morning. That was day six. So now you see how the Creator swept into being the spangled heavens, the earth, and all their hosts in six days. On the seventh day—with the canvas of the cosmos completed—God paused from His labor and rested. Thus God blessed day seven and made it special—an open time for pause and restoration, a sacred zone of Sabbath-keeping, because God rested from all the work He had done in creation that day. (Gen. 1:31—2:3)
Savoring its beauty and appreciating its goodness. An open time for pause and restoration. Thus God blessed it. And God rested.
Blessed. Rest. Pause. Restoration. Savoring. Beauty. Appreciation. Goodness. These are the ways the purpose of Sabbath is shown to us. What if we celebrated Sabbath through these ideas? What if these were the touchstones for creating a Sabbath practice in our home?
In his book God in My Everything: How an Ancient Rhythm Helps Busy People Enjoy God, pastor Ken Shigematsu writes, “The golden rule for the Sabbath is to cease from what is necessary and to embrace what gives life.” We began to embrace what gave us life instead of what made us productive. Keeping the Sabbath, albeit unconventionally, we created pockets of time to celebrate rest, creation, and each other throughout our week. And miraculously, these little pockets of celebration spilled over into our attitudes and habits, helping us to take down our idol of exhaustion, burning it in a fire of repentance, allowing a more whole way of living to rise from its ashes.
Reflect:
Read Genesis 1—2:3. What does God’s rest after creating the world say to you about the goodness of both work and rest? What stands out to you most? Why?
Pray:
Rather than praying with words, take time now to “embrace what gives life”—do something fun, creative, or refreshing. Or simply take a short nap. Gratefully receive God’s gift of Sabbath right now, even if it is just for a few minutes.
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
A Christian reconciliation group in Israel and Palestine warned that war would come. Now the war threatens their relevance.españolالعربيةFrançais
After lobbying from fellow Southern Baptists and Christians affected by the war, the House speaker moves a package forward.
