Devotional
Sabbath
Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27
Mark 2:27
The observance of the Sabbath Day has seen an interesting history down through the ages.
In Jesus’ day there were some very strict rules about the Sabbath. These rules were often used to cast judgement on people who would break them. Even in church history, there were times where your standing as a Christian was greatly affected by what you did or didn’t do on the Sabbath.
There have even been arguments over which day is the Sabbath. This has resulted in much of the modern evangelical church ignoring it almost completely. But we cannot escape the fact that there is clear teaching on the Sabbath in the Bible.
Jesus sheds light here on reminding us that the Sabbath was put in place for the benefit of people. We should not ignore this. The observance of Sabbath, when not used as a legalistic measuring stick, is a beautiful rhythm of pause and reflection. When we set aside one day in seven to rest and focus on God, it helps to re-set us. Otherwise we will be in danger of one day blending into another until we end up in this never-ending mess of activity.
We do not wish to be legalistic about the Sabbath, but it would be wrong to ignore it. Set it aside for God. Make it holy and different. Then we will discover why God put it in place.
Brett
In Jesus’ day there were some very strict rules about the Sabbath. These rules were often used to cast judgement on people who would break them. Even in church history, there were times where your standing as a Christian was greatly affected by what you did or didn’t do on the Sabbath.
There have even been arguments over which day is the Sabbath. This has resulted in much of the modern evangelical church ignoring it almost completely. But we cannot escape the fact that there is clear teaching on the Sabbath in the Bible.
Jesus sheds light here on reminding us that the Sabbath was put in place for the benefit of people. We should not ignore this. The observance of Sabbath, when not used as a legalistic measuring stick, is a beautiful rhythm of pause and reflection. When we set aside one day in seven to rest and focus on God, it helps to re-set us. Otherwise we will be in danger of one day blending into another until we end up in this never-ending mess of activity.
We do not wish to be legalistic about the Sabbath, but it would be wrong to ignore it. Set it aside for God. Make it holy and different. Then we will discover why God put it in place.
Brett
Posted in Devotional