Sabbath
A Mistaken Identity
This week will not feature a full-length article from The Earnest Wesleyan.
“How do we spark a revival?” is a good question. My initial answer is that we don’t, the Holy Spirit does. It follows then, that we have to give the Spirit space to move, on our hearts and in our workings. A time-tested method where God shows us is the Sabbath. In the March 1909 edition of The Earnest Christian, a writer commented that “A sacred Sabbath is one of the chief bulwarks of Christianity. Not alone under the Old Covenant, but also under the New, disregard of the Sabbath as peculiarly holy unto the Lord, has ever been followed by general religious decline, and by great increase of immorality and wickedness.” The commentator continues, “ the Sabbath is either not recognized at all, or, if recognized, is pretty generally made a holiday instead of a holy day. To a large extent, even among professedly religious people, the command, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," seems to be regarded as obsolete.”
I would love to time-travel and speak to this commentator about what and when constitutes a real Sabbath rest as he then laments the rise of street-car travel, movie theaters, and steam cars on the Sabbath. However, I believe he brings up a great point about the Sabbath that deeply convicts me. When practiced, is it a holiday about me, or a holy day about God? Too often, I believe the answer, for me, is often the former. I do it for my rest and fail to make the Sabbath a holy day, and in turn do not achieve true rest, which comes from Jesus.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 (CSB)