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Sabbath..

I'm trying to work out whta it means for me to really have Sabbath. I had a crazy weekend, working all day Saturday, then ended up doing loads of mental work on Sunday too. I rued the moment I plugged in the broadband cable as I wrestled through issues in my head. And it got me to thinking that I might be missing something. We talk about having days off, it buzzes round in Christian circles where we are rightly beginning to realise that we do too much. We are getting better at booking days with no meetings. But is that really Sabbath?

I'm trying to take a clear 24 hours (each week) with no work in it. It should mean that I don't plan, write, return work emails, pray with "work" people, pray for "work" people, preach, lead worship, teach, network people, mentor, advise or think about any of the above.

Thats where the challenge comes in. I can avoid doing the things for a day a week. Can I avoid thinking about them? It occurred to me this weekend that this is a generation where intellectual property is highly valuable. It stands to reason that our pace and rhythm as disciples of Jesus needs to reflect that high value. We are highly relational: Sabbath too must reflect that.

What am I saying? I can "not" go to work for a day. But can my brain not go? I can "rest" for a day, but is my brain still active? I can put nothing in my diary, and keep carrying it all in my mind.

When God instituted Sabbath he said "remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.... it is a sabbath to the LORD". For God it was a day when he just looked at his creation. And I'm guessing he was thinking: "It is good". Its a huge challenge for me.. can I have as part of my rhythm of life a full 24 hours where I look at what God has done and say it is good.

A day of thankfulness?
A day in creation?
A day of acknowledging that I am fearfully and wonderfully made?
A day of seeing the beauty of God in others?
A day of seeing the beauty of God in me?

As I type I'm thinking that God didn't spend that seventh day thinking about all the prophets and finally his son whom he would have to send to sort out the mess. He wasn't plotting the way that twelve unknown Palestinians would revolutionise the Middle East. He wasn't deciding in what mind blowing way he would return to redeem his creation. Depending on your theology he knew all that, but I like to think that He chose to stop on that day and as part of creation's rhythm, he said "it is good".

I'd like to spend my Sabbath's like God.

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