Minister’s Minute August 3, 2011
Sabbath Time
I was on my Facebook account the other day when one of my Facebook friends started a conversation chain that really took off with about 40 postings at last count. The conversation was about how life was different when we (50 year olds) were growing up over half a century ago. There were no cell phones. There was no internet, no computers, no laptops. There were no credit cards. But as kids growing up in that time, we had plenty of ways to entertain ourselves, most of which involved being physically active and interacting with each other. We would catch fireflies on Summer evenings, play touch football, ride bikes around town, ice skate in the winter, go sledding, or even play “hide-n-seek” throughout the neighborhood. Moms would “holler out” for you to come home for the night, rather than calling on your cell phone.
I guess another factor involved here is the fact that I grew up on the East coast, in Pennsylvania. The winters in Pennsylvania aren’t as long (or as cold) as the upper mid-west winters, and so, baseball and softball is played in the spring, not during the summer months. Back east, kids are pretty much “free for the summer” to do whatever they want… even sleep in late if that’s their choice.
I think kids need more “down time,” especially in today’s hectic world. Many of the youth in this area are involved in as many sports as they can possibly cram into their schedule. In addition, they are involved in choir, or band, or jazz band, or speech, or science fair, clubs, FFA, the list goes on and on. I’ve talked with some youth who say that it’s just too much; and they are involved in all these things, in some cases, not by their own choice, but by parental expectations and peer pressure. I have to be honest in saying that I’m concerned for these youth. I’m seeing signs of depression in teenagers simply because of the fact that they have too much on their plates… and I’m concerned.
God created the earth and everything in it in a matter of 6 days, but on the 7th day, he rested, and God proclaimed the 7th day a day of Sabbath. From Exodus 20:8-11, “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. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
We all need a time of Sabbath rest. God is wise and God knew, when he created the earth and all living thing, that parents as well as their children, would need a time when they could rest from their labors, as well as a time when they would be able to worship their Creator freely, without the expectations and implications brought about by work and activities.
I am convinced of the importance of Wednesday church nights, Sunday Sabbath time, as well as in the importance of a Summer Sabbath time for our youth to relax and to have the opportunity to unwind from an extremely intensive school year, and to prepare oneself mentally and emotionally for the upcoming school year. And parents… you need to capitalize on these Sabbath times as well. You need to spend some “quality time,” some “family time” with your children, because they only grow up once, and they’re looking to YOU to set an example for THEM… and most importantly, they’re looking to YOU for love and affection.
Times have certainly changed since I was a teenager, even this article is now composed on a computer rather than a typewriter, but some things haven’t changed, and should not change, the most important of which is a time of Sabbath, a time of rest for weary souls.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We all need to set aside some time from the frantic pace of life in order to hear God’s gentle voice; we also need to set aside time to listen for God’s voice. It’s hard, if not impossible to hear God’s voice in the midst of all the noise and busyness of life. My prayer for you today is that you would take some Sabbath time for yourself and relax, because even God took a break after His work of creating was finished; we all need some Sabbath time.
Grace and peace in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Andrew Hilla
