Labor Day 2013 is part of history. How interesting that we celebrate it by not laboring. It is a day of rest, recreation and for many lots of driving. Lest we somehow feel guilty about not working we should remember that God approves of us resting and taking time off work. He even built into each week one special day and told us not to work on that special day. One of the most interesting uses of that special day is found in Hebrews 4. “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.”
The writer of Hebrews uses the Sabbath of the fourth commandment as a symbol of our rest from works designed to earn salvation. There is so much anxiety generated when we try to make sure we have enough obedience credited to our account so we can merit salvation. I know people who daily fret and worry that there is one small sin that will keep them out of God’s Kingdom. It is debilitating to be so focused on ourselves.
However, if we instead focus on the gift of God and His loving grace, if we instead think about Jesus, the stress melts away and we enter into a rest from labor. “A life in Christ is a life of restfulness.” It is ironic that some people turn this Sabbath symbol of rest into another work making the Sabbath a burden to bear instead of its intended use, which is just the opposite. One of the joys of salvation is not having to worry about it. All we need do is trust Him. He always keeps His promises.
Written by Roger Bothwell on September 3, 2013
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org