God Created Rest

While in grad school I had the privilege of babysitting for an Orthodox Jewish family. They knew I was Catholic and studying theology, and our mutual respect for one another led to many great conversations about our beliefs and a safe space to ask one another questions.

The conversation I remember most distinctly during my time with this family began with a question posed by Benny, the father:

“Sarah, can I ask you something?”

I tensed a bit, waiting for a conversation about the typical Church teachings that are misunderstood and can stir up controversy.

“The Commandments clearly say to honor the Sabbath and rest, but I see so many Christians who don’t do so . . .” I don’t remember the specifics of the rest of our conversation but the question itself has stuck with me and is one I often find myself praying with and working to intentionally restructure what my Sundays look like.

Am I truly keeping holy the Sabbath and am I following the Creator’s example and taking the time to truly rest?

. . . Am I even sure I know how to rest?

I read somewhere once that God created rest on the seventh day of creation. Not because the Almighty mirrors those with the inability to sit still when there are things that could be done, but rest was created as gift—a gift for those of us that are constantly on the go, those of us who finish one task on our to-do list only to add three more.

Given how tightly we continue to pack our days, it’s not terribly surprising that keeping holy the Sabbath is the commandment with the second-longest explanation in today’s reading from Exodus 20:1-17. Nowadays, rest seems to be one of the hardest concepts to grasp, especially as we're grasping for every other worldly good. But there will always be more to do and still, we are called to this gift of worshipping our Creator and resting in His tender Heart.

How is God calling you to keep holy the Sabbath? How can you more deeply rest in God’s abundant love?

There will always be more to do and still, we are called to this gift. // Sarah RoseClick to tweet

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