a nugget from the retreat

[i've also posted this on truth is narrow.] and i have no idea why some of the text is white and refuses to be black.

this weekend i went to a Ladies' Retreat with some people (ladies) from my church. the retreat center was actually really nice (not quite what i was expecting) and we even got prime rib and salmon for dinner. that was an excellent meal. plus there was a 24-hour snack room, stuffed to the gills with all manner of chips, ice cream, candy, pop, juice, soup, and fruit; as well as a coffee/tea bar. score!

in addition to the excellent food, and apart from the ladies-only atmosphere and corresponding activities, i actually enjoyed myself. now usually, when there aren't guys there to equalize the hormone balance, i don't enjoy girls-only things because they get too catty and chatty and emotional. :) anyways....we had a choice of short sessions to attend on saturday morning. i went to one called "The Rest of God." at first i thought it meant something like "more of God" but actually was about "Sabbath rest." very, very interesting. while the book she used in our short study didn't seem to be very thorough, i was thoroughly convicted: the concept of weekly rest is indeed almost completely foreign to our culture, and to my own lifestyle.

i don't think watching TV and sleeping are the kind of "rest" God originally intended when he commanded the israelites to take a weekly sabbath. it's not physical rest; it's spiritual restoration and "deep cleaning." it gives you a chance to take stock of your spiritual economy, and to take note of what you might do differently next week. in addition to that, though, the concept of a weekly (and yearly, as the israelites practiced) hiatus is inextricable from the practical outworking of trusting God for provision. according to most standards, it is counterintuitive and counterproductive to "randomly" stop working every seventh day (and for every seventh year), yet this allows us to have a fuller experience of allowing the Lord to provide for us. it lets us "rest" in his faithfulness.

the old testamant is full of examples of this. remember how the "manna" the israelites gathered outside would only last one day...yet what they picked up on Friday lasted through friday, and all through Saturday too. what a neat picture of God's faithful provision to his children. and often when the command was given to keep the seventh day holy, it was accompanied by an admonition to "Remember how the Lord brought you out of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 5:15). the point is clear: He didn't forget to provide for them back then, and he surely won't forget that they need food on sabbath days. Leviticus 25: 20-22 says that even when you where your sabbath-year food will come from, God will produce enough until the next crop rolls in. also, the israelites were commanded to cancel all debts and release all slaves every seventh year (Deuteronomy 15). and the slaves were to be "supplied liberally" with food and drink. that supplements the concept of trust.

yes, that's all old testamant and all about the nation of israel. however, the underlying principles are not voided by time or ethnicity. the new testamant, particularly mark 2:27, makes clear: the Sabbath was made for man. therefore, it's necessary that christians keep the command of sabbath-ing (resting) even if they have to work or go to school on saturday or sunday (the traditional weekends in this country) because they may take a day of rest some other day of the week. like i said, i don't think this is done very often, or very well, in our culture. i know when i think of a weekend, i think of sleeping, maybe going to a movie, or catching up on books i've been reading...basically, being totally and completly selfish with my time. after all, i've earned it, right? 40 hours is a lot of time to work at my job, so don't i deserve some time to myself? sure, maybe. a nap wouldn't hurt anything. (and let's not forget that our society generally extends not one, but two days of rest from many activities.) but how often do i actually think of my sabbath-day as a time to thank God for what he's done, and to evaluate my spiritual condition? not very much, that's for sure. it probably wouldn't be a stretch to assume that's the case for most people. anyways, i think the outcome of that session has been very challenging for me, and i hope you will think about this too.