WATCHWORD:
1 So, the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. 2 On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:1-3
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Meditation:
Sunday or Monday?
It was a special morning. My mind was filled with all sorts thoughts and ideas, some coming from devotionals that I had read and some coming from the scripture passages that caused me to meditate, or sort through my own understanding. What a morning!
Like cream rising from the top of milk, one idea persisted long after I moved on to breakfast. It was a Friday, I was scheduled to travel to meet family for a holiday dinner reunion. Knowing who I would be dining with, I thought about the similarities between this Friday, or any ordinary day, and Sunday and my worship time in church. Was there, or should there, be any difference?
Jesus commanded his followers to go and make disciples. Sunday or Monday, or “any-day” of the week, that commandment is the same for us. On Sunday, we prepare our hearts and minds for worship, hear and consider the message, not from Pastor Whoever, but from the Lord. We pray, we sup on the bread and wine of our Lord, we sing praises, and then we enter the “mission field”, that is, the rest of the day.
How is that different from the next day, or the next? Think about it. My typical day may mirror yours. I begin with prayer, reading devotionals, meditate on the Word, consider friends, family and others to lift up to the Lord, have toast and juice (maybe an egg, coffee, etc., symbolic of bread and wine?), close with prayer, and enter the mission field. Just use a little imagination, but that is the way it goes.
Now we go forth into the mission field of the rest of our day, sharing Christ outside our personal “church”? “Making disciples” in the way we live our lives in the broader community. Note, we are not called to proselytize we are called to follow and do our best to imitate Christ, a form of planting seeds.
Now, again, Sunday or Monday or Friday, or any day of the week. Is there really any difference? I can think of one that many of us violate with impunity: The day of rest. The day of recharging. The day the Lord set aside to rest. It is hard to imagine that the Creator of the Universe could be tired. So, that day of rest was given to us to us as a time of refreshment.
I have very dear friends who, from my perspective, choose to take the day of rest and fill it with busy, busyness, sometimes undermining their own health. Our heavenly Father didn’t give us a day of rest to expand our to-do list, he gave us a day of rest to enjoy, to reset our minds, and prepare us for the next set of days of worship. A day of rest is mentally, physically and spiritually is necessary for maintaining health.
You may ask how does the day of rest represent worshiping our Lord? To that I say, when we honor the day of rest we honor and worship our Lord. Monday, Tuesday, Sunday, it makes no difference. These are the days the Lord has made, we rejoice and worship and be glad. So be it.
Bulletin Board:
And He rested on the seventh day: God did not need rest on the seventh day because He was tired. He rested to show His creating work was done, to give a pattern to man regarding the structure of time (in seven-day weeks), and to give an example of the blessing of rest to man on the seventh day. God sanctified the seventh day because it was a gift to man for rest and replenishment, and most of all because the Sabbath is a shadow of the rest available through the person and work of Jesus Christ (Enduring Word commentary on Genesis 2:3).
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, I am tired. My mind is frazzled, my hands are full, and my emotions are reeling with all the things I have to do. Help me to come to you in the middle of the overwhelm. Remind me of your ever-present help in my times of need. Show me how to rest in You. Reveal to me both the beauty in the work and in the rest. Calm my anxious thoughts and encourage my heart with Your nearness. Instruct me in your ways. Bring productivity and contentment out of the peace and comfort I find. Settle me in Your truth and in Your love. Amen.
