Quite recently I had the opportunity to talk to someone about why I felt the Sabbath was still something to honor. It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was a good chance to talk about why I don’t honor the Sabbath because I have to, but because I want to. Normally what happens when people talk to me about the Sabbath is they dismiss it, because “we are no longer under the Old Testament law” and don’t need to worry about that anymore. But what they tend to forget is that the Sabbath was established in Genesis, at the beginning of our world and human existence.
When we put the Sabbath into that perspective it should bring on a whole new dimension. Christians love to talk about the creation and point to it as an example of how incredible God is. “Look at that sunrise. Wow, our God is amazing!” Or if we look even closer at creation we see just how complex everything is, and we realize how much of a genius our Creator really is. That’s all fine and dandy, and I love to dive into that, but what about the seventh day of creation? Ask someone about the seventh day of creation and they will probably look at you with a very puzzled look. Wasn’t everything created in only six days? Didn’t God rest from his work on the seventh day? Yes and no. Our galaxy with all the stars and planets, our earth with all its living organisms was indeed created in the six days of creation. But on the seventh day something else was created, something intangible and from the realms of heaven—the Sabbath. It was not just a day that God rested on. It was a day He decided to hallow.
Some may try to say that keeping a Sabbath is legalistic. Or they may say it’s extra baggage that Christians shouldn’t worry about. They are entitled to their opinions, but if that is the case, why did God include it in the Ten Commandments? Why did He specifically talk about the seventh day of creation week when He rested and made the day holy? How is it that we say it’s OK to keep the other nine commandments but not that one? That’s pretty arrogant if you ask me. I am aware of early church history and how the decision to observe Sunday as the Lord’s day was established. But that should in no way negate the Sabbath which is something that God ordained from the foundation of our world.
For those of us who are born again and desire the things of heaven, when we see the Sabbath as not just another day but something that is holy, actually sanctified by God, we should be drawn to it. Jesus proclaimed in Mark 2:21 that “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” I encourage us all to remember that. God doesn’t do things by mistake. He has glorious intentions for everything that He does. If God made something for man, shouldn’t we as Christians want to take part in it? The answer of course is Yes.
