Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Devotion - Wednesday, November 4

I wrote to you on Monday about Sabbath.  That reflections was to encourage you to observe Sabbath, in the sense of slowing down and turning your attention to those aspects of our lives that make life meaningful.

In Matthew 12, Jesus struggles to help us understand Sabbath and how to observe it without turning it into an additional burden.

The religious culture of Jesus' day had developed all sorts of rules for what observing Sabbath meant.  No work or labor was to be allowed.  This resulted in condemnation when Jesus' disciples plucked grains from the stalks as they walked through the grain fields.  Jesus tries to help the legalistic minded folks see that their rules were distracting folks from the purpose of Sabbath.

Rules are necessary for children.  A child may not be able to discern what is right or helpful.  But as adults we come to see that practically every rule will met a situation in which it misguides us.

The Sabbath is an opportunity to reflect on God's Word, to appreciate God's instructions, and to discern how we will follow.  The Sabbath is the invitation to develop the relationship with God in which rules are replaced by a willingness to see and act in accordance with God's hope for the world.  As we observe Sabbath we become less needful of rules.

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