July 7 | Genesis 2:1-3

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DAILY READING

Genesis 2:1-3

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REFLECTION

R & R

by Elaine Pierce

Doesn't this seem like a bit of an understatement?

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (v.2)

The work he had been doing consisted of - wait for it - CREATING THE WORLD! Yes, I would say he was entitled to rest! But notice that this rest was not just an absence of work. See verse 3:

And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Work and rest are both valued by God. Both are important. And rest is holy! In Exodus 20:8, God reminds his people that Sabbath rest is a command:

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God...For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in the, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-9, 11)

I'm looking forward to this sermon series on the Sabbath. It is so easy to get legalistic about what 'Sabbath rest' is. In my lifetime I have seen Sundays change a great deal. It used to be that very few stores were open, including grocery stores (so if you ran out of milk you were out of luck). Today, except for Chick Fil A, you wouldn't know that Sunday differed from any other day. As our country has gotten more secular, we can't count on our society to be 'Christian.' What an opportunity we have to model godly Sabbath rest!

Whether your work is monumental or minor, whether you are raising children, or teaching college students, or reading spreadsheets or fixing computers or selling cars or something else entirely, your work is valuable, and holy rest is part of your work. God gave us his example of how to rest - let's follow him gladly.

PRAYER

Lord, help me keep the Sabbath holy, and honor you with Sabbath rest. Help me not to be legalistic but joyful in submitting to your command to rest. Help me rest with a spirit that worships you and follows you, and thank you for creating me in your image.