The idea of a Sabbath rest is foundational throughout Scripture.
In fact, the Sabbath is the only “ritual” mentioned in the Ten Commandments.
There is something very special about the idea of Sabbath that those of us who
live in the western world may have lost.
First and foremost, we need to understand that we were created to
be relational. We were made to be in a relationship with God and each other. In
the “each other” category, we were made to focus on family, then others, and to
love all, even our enemies.
The concepts given to us by God are concepts that are rather
simple, but at the same time are profound enough to spend hours and hours
contemplating them and the significant role they play in our lives, the
universe, and eternity.
Satan is described as God’s enemy, and is one whom God says is
clever, or cunning, and sly. He would gladly use something that God has created
and deemed good in ways it was not meant to be in order to destroy it. In fact,
mankind would not willingly or knowingly destroy themselves, so Satan would
need to work at making our destruction appealing, desirable, and perhaps, even
normal.
One might ask how Satan could and would do such things, and that
would be a valid question. I do not think that I or anyone else can really tell
you what Satan is up to unless we have read about it in the Scriptures.
However, I would assume that Satan would be attacking us in the most
foundational areas of life, knowing that if the foundation goes, the building
is sure to follow.
God is the cornerstone, or the most important foundational brick.
Without Him, you have no foundation, so it seems natural that His enemy would
attack the very idea of God. In fact, the Bible starts with this quote in Genesis
1:1: “In the beginning, God….”
There is both written word and physical evidence that God exists.
In fact, we are told that those who choose to ignore this fact have pushed the
truth, that was implanted in us, away, in favor of believing an error.
Believing lies never turns out well, and we all know that, but we
do not all know the lies to which we have been exposed. Mom and dads could be
exposed to lies at work or at the coffee shop. Sons and daughters could be
exposed to lies at school, on the playground, or by watching a movie.
Since truth is important, and we can be exposed to and eventually
believe lies, we need to be able to safeguard the truth and have some way to
check to see if we have begun to fade from knowing the things we should know.
Perhaps that is why God created life to be relational. As I spend
time enjoying God, reading His Word, and talking to Him, I get to see clearly
what is right and wrong, and see if anything I have seen or heard is a “lie.”
As one spends time with family, as they do life together, they will be able to
see how we live, respond, and think, and if we are beginning to hear and
actually listen to lies, they are there to help us refocus.
What has happened in our culture is not good for relationships.
We are people who can easily be busy all of the time. We have access to work
from home, and to home from work. We have school, sports, and social lives to
live, and have immediate and constant access to events and people via some sort
of electronic device.
Some would say that our culture is unique in its opportunities to
be busy, but that is not so. In fact, people have had the opportunity to be
busy and distracted in every era and place in history. In this world there is always more to do.
Today, we have many ways of being distracted, of mistaking arrangements for
relationships, and often, in our attempt to use things, the things in our lives
use us.
Sadly to say, one of the signs of a culture that is too busy is
that they begin using things and people rather than enjoying them.
Everyone lives differently. Some live in chaos or a mess until
cleaning day, making cleaning day quite a chore. Others attempt to live and
clean and organize as they go, making cleaning day quite bearable.
The Sabbath is really about taking the time to put things back
where they belong. If it is done on a regular basis, the changes in life are
small and relatively easy. If we live our lives out of control and then take a
moment now and then to try and straighten it out, we become weary just looking
at the mess, and want to just destroy it all and start over.
That approach might work for a garage, but it is not acceptable
in relationships.
Those who want to live as we were intended to live, and enjoy the
fruits that accompany healthy thinking and living, need to do so in
relationships. Without a relationship with God you cannot have healthy
relationships with people, and both need to have intentional and undistracted
time in order to thrive.
Intentional and undistracted would be the key words to try to
incorporate.
If one would sleep 8 hours a day, seven days a week, he/she would
have 112 hours awake each week. One seventh of 112 would be about 16 hours a
week, or 2 hours and 20 minutes a day. Those who want to have healthy
relationships need to schedule time for them. Ideally, you should spend 16
hours one day working on relationships. In our culture, that may not work, so
maybe we should work towards spending two hours and twenty minutes a day in
relationships building and renewing.
Legalism is not the goal; relationships are the goal. However,
intentionality is not legalism.
With this in mind, The Omega Force, in conjunction with Silver
Birch Ranch and The Wolf River Refuge, invites you to be intentional a couple
times a year at our beautiful property on the Wolf River. The Wolf River Refuge has cabins that are
available for families to come and use for a couple days to a week, and helps
you with the “intentional” part of the formula.
Just as one would make regular dental appointments to ward off
problems, one should make regular “relational” appointments that do not include
distractions, in order to repair, renew, or just enjoy God and each other.
While at the Wolf River Refuge, you will be hosted by Steve and
Kris Tice, Biblical Counselors, who will do whatever it takes to encourage you
to leave the rest of the world behind for awhile while you focus on those who
are actually important to you. If you need time with them to discuss various
areas, they would be available and willing to help.
If you’re planning to come, or just planning on being more
intentional at home, perhaps you could incorporate some of these elements, and
even work towards making them a normal part of your “sabbath” rests.
Dress nicely in a way that your spouse and family would be proud.
Prepare food ahead of time to enjoy, or enjoy meals prepared for
you by the Wolf River Refuge staff.
After sunset, the night before, bless your children. Talk to
them, thank God for them, and encourage them.
Spouses--thank and affirm each other in front of the children.
Discuss the time period before the sabbath…what’s going on in
life.
Nobody works, no electronic devices, no movies, no television…no
normal pressures.
Have everyone spend time reading and praying.
Go for a long walk and talk along the way.
Take time to notice the “creation” and talk of what it says to
the created.
