God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day, he rested; therefore, he told us
also to rest on the Sabbath. When God led the Israelites out of slavery, he told them to rest
on the Sabbath. However, unless our souls are resting in God’s grace, we are restless in our
soul even if we are rested physically. We need the deep rest that can only come through
grace by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. When we receive his
righteousness and approval as a gift, we can rest from trying to find our own righteousness
and approval.
When we seek to keep the Sabbath, we, however, often go in the opposite direction of deep
rest in Christ. We make Sabbath-rest into rules that lead us away from relying on God’s
grace. However, Jesus taught us that we were not created for the Sabbath; Sabbath was
created for us. Sabbath was created as an invitation by God to delight in him and his
creation and our cultivation of his creation.
How do we keep the Sabbath rest? By praying and playing. We can be creative and have
fun.