Photo by Cassidy Rowell on Unsplash
It is interesting how my Sundays tend to give an automatic pause to my week. They aren’t nearly as busy as our Sundays were when Ron was a pastor. We tried to have quiet afternoons because the mornings were crazy. But generally, Sundays were days we needed to recover from.
These days, Sunday is a good break. We find spiritual refreshing at the worship service. But we are also in the habit of a great nap in the afternoon. I am involved in ministry, but most of it is during the week. Some of it is on Sundays, but the majority is during the week.
Do you define Sundays by what you do? Or by what you don’t do?
I grew up in an environment where Sundays were defined by what we didn’t do. That isn’t how I define Sundays now. I think of Sundays as days of renewal and refreshing, both spiritually and physically. We need refreshing. We need to stop and rest. I know, I talked about rest in an earlier post. But this is a special kind of rest. As Americans, we just don’t do it. It is to our peril.
I don’t routinely do housework on Sunday, but if I have to, I don’t worry about it. It definitely isn’t my routine. It is a time of rest for us in general. We pause. We take a break from our normal, daily way of doing things. We know we need that break. For many, it is a time to be together with their family…sometimes, it is the only day of the week they have together.
The priority is on spiritual refreshing…and time with other believers, in community, worshipping GOD together.
As long as we make sure that spiritual refreshing is part of our Sunday, that is key. It is so easy for us to get busy with everything but our spiritual lives. So often, it takes a low priority. But GOD wants it to be part of our life’s rhythm. One day out of seven to take a break for physical and spiritual refreshing and rest.
Yes, we have our personal time with GOD daily, or close to it. But woven into our lives is a weekly time of worship with other believers in community. It also includes times of rest and refreshing for other parts of our lives on that day.
We don’t do it for legalistic reasons. We do it because it is good for our physical, mental and spiritual health. It is one of those commands we do like our giving. GOD recommends it for our benefit, not for our misery.
Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.
On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter,
your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock,
or the sojourner who is within your gates.
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.Exodus 20:9-11 ESV
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another,
and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.Hebrews 10:25-26 ESV
