“God gives us rest for spiritual purposes, to teach us to be dependent upon him, to teach us that we can ultimately only ever rest in him, and to teach us that beyond this world there is a place of eternal rest from sin. He teaches us that our rest is not ultimately a day, but a person, not ultimately an occasion, but a Savior.” - Challies
Read the series.
Moses gives us one more application of Creation that I’d like to note. One of the Ten Commandments, the fourth, makes a direct reference to the creation as a basis for application to how we live. I note that two of the commandments—the second and the fourth—receive considerably more column inches than the others. (Not that any of the ten are “less” important than the others, of course.) The second, which forbids graven images, protects the holiness of God; since God is unlike any of his creatures, to make an image of him is to represent him as less than he actually is.
“Sleep requires daily humility to set the work aside, close your eyes, and be unconscious–a little practice of what death ultimately requires of you and proves to be true: the world runs fine without you.” - P&D
“In the work-from-home world—and for many pastors, stay-at-home parents, or caretakers—this experience isn’t unusual. Even if our devices are silent, our minds keep humming. Our closed laptops sit on the table and whisper, ‘Just one quick thing …’” - TGC
“God creates leisure and work as a means of human flourishing in the world. Principles about leisure and vocation can be drawn from the biblical themes of sabbath, festival, and food throughout Scripture.” - Christ Over All
“I was lovingly confronted by a dear friend and fellow pastor that I was not using all my vacation time. In his rebuke, he explained to me the reasons I should be taking every day of vacation the church gives me, which I had never done.” - C.Leaders
“The biblical vision is that we rest in order to work rather than working in order to rest. The principle of multiplication—and profit—begins with our labor.” - IFWE
“We know we weren’t made for this, but we don’t know what to do about it. That’s the genius behind the Sabbath, a word from Hebrew that means “stop” or “cease.” It’s the opposite of doing something.” - TGC
“While we believe that our vocations are a gift from God, we also understand that rest is an essential ingredient to a well-balanced life and something our Creator wants us to enjoy according to his will.” - IFWE
“If done well, a pastor’s sabbatical will glorify God as they come back eager to be a blessing to their family, church, and community….Here are five steps I encourage pastors to use to help their church implement sabbaticals.” - Lifeway
