As a Gentile… and not a Jew…. my sabbath day falls on Sunday. I know that Sabbath day is from Friday night to Saturday night in the Jewish culture, so I am aware of the real day. But as a Christian born and engrafted into Christ, the day we celebrate is the day of resurrection. So regardless which day you celebrate Christ, is of no importance… just pick one. The Bible even says not to judge others by the Holy Day! But that’s not what I’m wanting to discuss here today… I am going to share something of profound importance that the Lord gave me just last Sunday on my way to church.
I was running a bit late, and so was kinda speeding down the road… then a very slow car pulled out in front of me. I wasn’t very happy about that, got a little frustrated, but then talked myself down by saying it’ll be alright. And I began slowing down and backing off. Then the Lord spoke to me, “You are loving when there is no one to love.” That shot at me like a dart! What did He just say to me? We can love people when there is no one around… in other words… we can sing the Hallelujah chorus before the kids get home from school. We can sing praises in our cars when no one pulls out in front of you in traffic! Ouch! I had to laugh… I realized I was being “loving.” So I repented right there and enjoyed my quiet drive on to church.
Then during the service, the pastor mentioned this passage… he didn’t expand on it, but I couldn’t get that passage off my mind, so I really didn’t hear anything else he said. The Lord had me study this passage as He began showing me right then and there what it means to keep the sabbath! He simply said, “To keep the sabbath is to be Holy, not only on one day, but every day.” The bible says that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And now I understand that. The Sabbath is used as a reminder to get our hearts and minds clean in preparation for the following week. And the more we do that, the more HOLY we become so that when someone pulls out in front of us in traffic, we respond with patience and understanding and love.
He began showing me what holiness was… it’s loving others. So to remember the sabbath, it to remember to love every single day, because that is true holiness at work in our lives.
