What is Sabbath?

So what does Sabbath look like to you?  No really.  What is it like to “keep holy” the Sabbath?

Perhaps it is the day that you ‘go to Church’ – then after that hour is over, it is back to having a day packed with things to do and places to go and people to see.  Is that what Sabbath is all about?

Last week I attended one of Rob Bell’s 2Days Conferences.  After a short amount of time, it was easy to see why in 2011 Time Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.  During the conference Rob and his wife, Kristen, took some time to speak of the need for ‘rest.’  They reminded us, that by being called to be like Christ to others, (and we all are, in some way) our bodies are often broken open and our blood poured out.  No doubt, we all know what that feels like!

In addition, we have become a society where we feed our egos by leashing ourselves to multiple electronic devices where every ‘bing’ tells us of a tweet, a text, a message or a call.  Some people go as far as measuring ‘success’ by the number of times they are tapped by a device. 

So with this endless barrage 7 days a week – without a day of rest inserted in that endless pattern, how can renewal take place? Renewal in our person.  Renewal in our spousal/familial relationships?  Renewal in our spirituality?

So what to do?

It will vary with each person.  But earlier this week my wife and I realized that this Saturday our calendars are wide open (proof that there is a God who bestows grace).  So we are making it our Sabbath, but in a new and different way.  All electronic devices will be powered down (sans one phone for inbound family emergencies), so we can spend the day together, without outside interruptions, and focused on ‘renewal.’

Sounds biblical.  Sounds wonderful.  Sounds scary. 

Sounds like what God may have just had in mind when God asked for a day called Sabbath...